Life
by BBFate
Summary: College is scary. Can the gang handle adulthood or will it all fall apart... Again... Story continuance of Fate.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This is a sequel to Fate. If you haven't read it, check it out! The complete story was published in a little over a week. I try to update at least once a day! If you have read Fate and liked it, I hope you enjoy this new story! Who knows where it will go! I do it chapter by chapter!**

Chapter One: A New Beginning

 **Georgie** **POV**

My first day at the University of Tulsa was coming up fast. It was two days away. I was nervous, but excited. I had four classes, and had three of them with Ponyboy.

"Hey, weirdo."

"Hey, lamebrain."

"Hey, just because I ain't as smart as you, doesn't mean my brain is lame."

"My apologies. Didn't mean to hurt your tiny brain's feelings."

"...Smartass..."

I smirked. He smiled and kissed me.

"It's our last Saturday before school. What do you wanna do?"

"There's a new movie playing. I wanted to go see it."

He groaned.

"A movie? Really?"

"That's why I'm going with Ponyboy. You just complain during movies and get up twenty times. You distract too much."

"Okay. Well, how about I take you somewhere to eat after your movie?"

"Sounds good, Soda. Anything to keep you from cooking."

"Hey, my food ain't that bad."

"Yeah. It kinda is..."

He pouted. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on. I wanna go for a walk."

We walked around for about an hour. Just talking. Ever since I told them all about me, it was easier to carry on a conversation.

"So, you failed the fifth grade."

"I couldn't concentrate. That's when it all started."

"I learn something new about you everyday."

"Yeah, well eventually I'll run out of things to tell you and them what will you do?"

"Find someone else and learn all about them?"

I punched him on the arm.

"I'm just kidding! Don't go hurting me!"

We walked back to the house and that's when me and Ponyboy decided to go on to the movies. We saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. When it was over, we walked out of the movie house and stopped on the sidewalk.

"Did you like it, Georgie?"

"I loved it!"

He laughed a little.

"I did, too."

"Butch and Etta remind me of you and me."

We started walking home.

"Do you ever think that?"

"Think what?"

"That if we'd have met first we'd be involved?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"No. I met Soda first, but I talked to you more when we first met. With Soda it was just hey and goodbye. Me and you actually had a conversation. Why? Do you?"

"I don't know. I mean, you're pretty, but I always just thought of you as a best friend. It's just crazy how close we are."

"I admit, our relationship is different. But, I think that's a good thing."

"Why don't you have that kind of relationship with Darry?"

"Same reason you don't. He's a lot older. I mean, he's twenty-five. I'm nineteen and you're eighteen.

"I just kinda feel bad. You've never gone to him for anything. You've always gone to everyone else in the gang."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Shoot."

"Who did I go to when Sandy died?"

He thought about for a minute.

"I don't know. Who _did_ you go to when Sandy died? I thought you'd come to me, but you never did. And I know you didn't go to Sodapop because he went to you."

"I went to Darry."

"You did?"

"I cried in his arms for three nights straight after Soda would go to bed. I needed an older brother. Dally wasn't there, so I needed Darry. I would've never been able to help Soda through it if I hadn't had someone help me through it."

"I never knew that..."

"It wasn't a secret. I guess I just never thought about telling anyone until now."

We were quiet for the rest of the walk home except for a little bit of small talk. When we got to our gate, he stopped me.

"I don't think it would've happened between us either. We almost have _too_ much in common. Even Dally said so."

"We're soulmates without the romance."

He crinkled his nose.

"That doesn't sound very tuff."

I laughed and hugged him. He kissed me on the cheek.

"You're tuff. Trust me."

We walked into the house. It was empty.

"Nap time?"

"Nap time."

We went to Pony's room and went to sleep. He put his arm protectively around me.

"What're you two doing?"

"I'm stealing your woman!"

"You can have her. She's annoying, you'll give her back."

I hadn't opened my eyes yet.

"You're right. You can have her back."

"I don't want her now!"

"Then, what do we do with her?"

"Just throw her out."

"Hey!"

I sat up and glared at both of them. Soda laughed.

"Come on and get ready. We're going out to eat. Remember?"

"Can I go?"

"No, Pone. You got to go to the movies with your best friend, now I'm going out to eat with my girlfriend."

"Whatever. Darry's a better cook, anyways."

"Doesn't matter. Darry's working late. You're cooking."

"Aw man!"

I laughed and went to get dressed. I decided on my skinny jeans, nice converse, and a nicer top. And I did wear my hair down. I walked out into the living room where Soda was waiting for me.

"Am I ever gonna see you in a dress?"

He was teasing me. He knew I'd never wear a dress.

"Yeah, at your funeral."

"But, I'll be dead!"

I smirked.

"Exactly. Don't make me be the one to murder you."

He laughed.

"Come on, let's go."

He took me to one of the nicest restaurants in Tulsa. We were waiting to be seated.

"Now, you're kinda making me wish I had worn a dress..."

He put his hand on my back and whispered in my ear.

"Hey, I was kidding back there. The way you dress makes you different. It's one of the things I love about you."

He kissed my hair. He made me feel better. We were seated and we ordered.

"I have something to tell you."

"Okay. What is it?"

"You know that car Mr. Rivers has been having me and Steve fix up?"

"Yeah?"

"We finished it today. He says it's mine, now."

"That's great, Soda! You have a car now!"

"Did you ever get a license?"

"Yeah. About a week after I moved here. Dad always had the car, though."

"Well, now we can both use it."

"Wait, if you got a car, why did we take the bus here?"

"Because you love walking. Especially at night."

I smiled. He knew me so well.

"You're amazing, Sodapop Curtis. You know that?"

"So I've been told."

We ate and talked. We took the bus halfway home and then started walking the rest of the way.

"I can't believe we start school on Monday."

"I know. It's crazy. It doesn't seem like it's been more than three years since you moved here. In some ways it feels like yesterday, and in other ways it feels like you were always here."

"I know. It's crazy."

We stopped at the lot and sat down to look at the stars. I was thinking too much like I always did.

"Don't they make you feel so small? Those little specks watch us our whole lives and probably scream at us when we do something wrong. Trying to get our attention to protect us the best they can."

Soda didn't answer, so I looked at him. He was just staring at me.

"What?"

"I can see why you're going into creative writing. How do you come up with stuff like that?"

"I don't know. I guess I just think about random stuff all the time. If I think about something long enough, my imagination goes crazy."

"How much do you think about the stars?"

"Well, they're easy to think about because they're out every night. It's not like with everything."

"I love how you look at things so differently. I would've looked at the stars and just saw stars. You saw something completely different."

He leaned down and kissed me. It got pretty heated, but we calmed down and went to the house.

Before you wonder, no. Me and Soda haven't slept together. I mean, we sleep together every night, but you know what I mean. That was sacred to me. After everything I'd been through, I wasn't ready. I still hadn't talked to my mom after the last time I saw her.

Monday rolled around. Mine and Pony's first class wasn't until 10:00and Soda's was at 10:30. He offered to take us to school. When we got there, Ponyboy got out. I stayed in for a second.

"You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty excited."

Good for him. I felt like I was about to throw up.

"The school knows about your panic attacks. You know what to do if you get one."

"Yeah. Find one of my teachers and they'll call Darry. I know, but I'll be fine."

He kissed me and drove off.

"Ready, Georgie?"

"Ready."

 **Soda** **POV**

I dropped them off knowing she was scared. She was excited, but change was hard for her. She had a random panic attack the week before when we were just talking about school. I knew once she got settled she'd be fine, but it still worried me.

My first day went by pretty fast. Steve was with me, so it wasn't so bad. I liked all my classes, and had them all with Steve. Keeping the secret from the gang was hard.

"How long you gonna keep from them that we're getting business degrees?"

"Until we get those degrees. I don't wanna tell them in case I fail."

Steve sighed.

"Soda, I know you think you're dumb but you're not. Just remember, you're doing this for you and Georgie to have a good life. Let that be what gets you going."

I went home after my last class because I didn't have to work that day. Georgie and Pony got home about an hour after I did. They were laughing and smiling.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"Great. I really liked my music class."

"Aren't you there for creative writing?"

I smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. But my other three classes are English 1, Creative Non-fiction, and Journalism. All of which I don't care for."

Ponyboy laughed.

"She's ready to start the poetry and fiction classes. She has to take the others first, though. She's jealous that I have a poetry class. Shouldn't have had a minor in anything other than writing."

He smiled at her.

"It's okay. I like my music class."

She turned to me.

"How was your day?"

I was hoping she wouldn't ask too much about it since she didn't know about mechanics.

"It went good. Didn't do too much on the first day."

"Yeah."

She sat next to me.

"It's so much different than High School."

"It is."

"I like it, though. It's a new beginning."

I leaned over and kissed her.

"The beginning of the rest of our lives."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: October

 **Soda POV**

So far, school was going great. We had managed to keep the secret, and I was doing really good in my classes. I would be done in a year and a half at this rate because I was doing the summer semester, too.

It was getting close to Halloween, which is one of Ponyboy and Georgie's favorite days of the year. I don't understand why. They always go to the movies, but I had a different plan.

"Hey, Pony. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"What's up?"

"What kind of movies do y'all go see on Halloween?"

"We usually just see a thriller. She doesn't like scary movies."

"Why not?"

"They give her nightmares. I'd go see a scary movie, but I'm not gonna make her go."

"Well, I know you like that girl in your class what's her name?"

"Amy."

"Yeah. Why don't you take Amy to see a scary movie and I'll take Georgie to see a different one."

He looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Sodapop, she doesn't like going to the movies with you. You get on her nerves, remember?"

"I'm not gonna do that this time. Just ask out Amy. I'll meet you at the movies that night. Don't tell Georgie."

 **Georgie POV**

It was Halloween. I loved it. I don't know why, I just did. I think it had a lot to do with the weather. It was starting to get colder, but not too cold. Me and Pony were walking to the drive-in.

"What are we gonna see?"

"Don't know yet. There's two movies playing. We'll figure it out when we get there."

When we got closer, I saw Sodapop leaning against his car. He was dressed up nice.

"Soda?"

"Hey!"

I ran up and hugged him.

"What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to see a movie. Hop in."

I was confused, but didn't argue.

"Come on, Pony."

"No thanks. I'll catch up with you later."

"Where's he going?"

"To meet with Any."

"No way, he finally asked her out?"

"Yeah."

We pulled into the drive-in after picking the movie and parked.

"We've got a few minutes to kill. Let's go get some popcorn and cokes."

"Okay."

We walked to the concession stands. It was more crowded than it usually was.

"So, did Pony ask you to come because of Amy?"

"No, I told him to take Amy."

"But, why? You hate movies."

"I don't hate movies. It's just hard for me to sit down and watch a movie at one time."

"Then, why did you wanna come to the movies?"

"Because you like them. And you and Pony go all the time. _He_ takes you on more dates than I do! If you like movies, then I will, too."

Bless him. He was trying so hard.

"You don't have to do this for me. If you wanna go on more dates, then we can find something to do."

"No, it's fine. Really, I..."

"Hey, baby."

We ignored the guy behind us.

"I wanna do this. It'll be fun."

He was trying his best to look happy about it, but I could tell he wasn't.

"Wanna come back to my car?"

"No thanks."

"Aw, come on! Leave this _greaser_ behind and see what's on the other side."

"Shut up! I'm a greaser, too!"

Soda calmed me down.

"Hey, it's okay. Let's just get our stuff and go."

The guy snorted.

"Your loss, baby."

We got our stuff and walked back to the car. About half way through the movie, I could tell that Soda was trying really hard not to move or talk. I was paying more attention to Soda, anyway so I decided not to put him through this torture anymore.

"Hey, Soda?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's leave. This movie's lame, and we can go to the lot or something."

"We don't have to. It's o..."

"Soda, this movie sucks. You'd know if I was really into it."

He smiled and we left. We went to the lot and just laid there talking and eventually fell asleep. When I woke up, I could tell it was late. Then, a thought occurred to me.

"Sodapop!"

"What? What?"

"We forgot about Ponyboy and Amy!"

"Dammit!"

We ran to the car. The clock said it was 11:22. Our movies ended at 10:00. We went to the house to see if he was there, and saw an angry Darry and Ponyboy waiting for us in the living room.

"Where the hell were you guys?! I had to walk Amy home and call Darry from her house!"

"I'm sorry, Ponyboy... We weren't into the movie, so we left and went to the lot. We fell asleep, and..."

"Whatever!"

Ponyboy stalked off to his room and slammed the door.

"How could you two be so stupid?"

"It was my fault, Dar. I was the one who suggested we leave. I completely forgot we were suppose to wait for Pony..."

"Whether it was your idea or not, one of you should've remembered him!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Lay off, Darry! It was an accident."

"If you two weren't adults, I'd ground you! Go to bed!"

He pointed to our room. We didn't argue. We changed and got into bed. Darry yelled through the door.

"And I better not hear no talkin'!"

Soda fell asleep fast. I couldn't sleep. I felt so guilty for doing that. How could I forget about him? I decided to go outside for a smoke. While I was out there, the screen door opened.

"What're you doing?"

"I can't sleep, Darry, I feel awful. I don't know how Soda fell asleep so fast."

"Because Pony's his brother and he knows he'll get over it."

"I've never made him that mad before..."

He pulled me into a hug.

"He'll be fine. Sorry I was so tough on you, kiddo. But that's not like you to forget something like that."

"I know... I guess I was just focused on how much Soda hates movies that I didn't think about it. I just knew he wanted to leave..."

"What's going on?"

Ponyboy walked on the porch. I quickly wiped away the couple of tears that fell.

"Hey, you crying?"

He walked over, I turned away.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I'll leave you two alone."

Darry left and walked back in the house. I turned away from Pony.

"Did we wake you up?"

"No. I never fell asleep."

"Me neither."

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Because I'm the worst best friend in the world."

I looked at him. He rolled his eyes.

"No, you're not. You did something stupid, but you're not the worst best friend in the world."

"I left you at the movies. You've never yelled at me like that before..."

"Trust me. That's nothing. I broke my hand when you ran out in front of that car."

He grabbed a cigarette and sat down on the steps. I sat down next to him. He handed me one.

"How'd you do that?"

"I punched a brick wall... Hurt like a bitch."

"I didn't know that..."

He gave me a look.

"Like I was gonna tell you that I was mad at you and broke my hand when you woke up from a coma. That would be rude."

He said it with humor. I sighed, he chuckled.

"Trust me, I was way more pissed at you those two times you tried to kill you self than I was tonight."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because then I wouldn't have been a good friend."

He sighed.

"You've got to get over it when people get mad at you. You're making me feel guilty by sitting out here sulking when I'm the one that should be sulking."

"I guess I only think about myself sometimes..."

"Yes and no. You think about other people at the wrong times and yourself at the wrong times."

"Guess I still have some growing up to do."

"Hey, you didn't have much of a childhood. It's okay that you're a little behind."

He smirked.

"I am very sorry for ditching you. It really was an accident."

"Yeah, I know. Falling asleep in the lot has gotten us both in trouble."

We smiled.

"Come on. Let's go to bed. You can sleep with me. If you crawl in the bed with Soda, he'll wake up."

We went to Pony's room and went to sleep. Around 5:00 in the morning, I was woken up.

"Hey."

"Hmmm? Oh, hey Soda."

"How'd you end up in here?"

He was smiling.

"Long story."

I climbed out of Pony's bed careful not to wake him. We went back to our room and went to sleep.

 **Author's note: I'm trying to put more dialogue in this one. I don't know if I can keep it up, but I'm trying! Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Christmas Eve.

 **Steve POV**

"Steve, I feel like I'm going nuts."

"How?"

"Keeping this dang secret from everybody. It's really hard."

"Hey, this was your bright idea, buddy. I didn't mind telling them one bit."

Soda smirked.

"It's getting really hard to keep it from Georgie. She's starting to ask questions about my classes, and I have to walk out of the room real quick."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"If you keep that up, you'll spill by New Years."

"How are you doing it?"

"My old man doesn't care, and I'm never around the gang long enough for them to really ask me any questions about school."

"You're lucky. I have to sleep with one of them!"

"In what way?"

I wiggled my eyebrows. He groaned.

"She still hasn't slept with you, huh?"

"No... We've come pretty close, but it never happens. She says she's still not ready."

"The doctor said it'd be that way. You knew that before you came into it."

"Yeah, I know. I just thought that after dating for two years..."

I walked over to him.

"You ain't gonna break up with her, are you?"

He looked at me like I'd grown two heads.

"No! I'm in love with that girl. I'll wait until marriage if she wants, but that's as far as I go. As soon as we say I do, she's mine."

"Have you guys even talked about marriage?"

He looked away.

"Soda?"

"I think I'm gonna ask her to marry me on New Years..."

This wasn't a surprise. I patted him on the back.

"Good for you, Sodapop. Good for you."

 **Georgie POV**

Soda had been acting weird. I didn't know why. I was in the kitchen one night during winter break cooking his favorite meal, hoping to make him feel better with whatever was bothering him.

"Anybody home?"

"Yeah, in here!"

"Hey, something smells good!"

I giggled.

"Hey, you made my favorite!"

He picked me up, spun me around, and kissed me.

"What would I do without you?"

"Have to eat your own cooking?"

"I think I'd die..."

"Sit down and eat. Darry and Pony will be here soon."

It was the first night in a couple weeks that I felt okay. I didn't know why Soda was acting so strange to me.

 **Soda POV**

When I walked in and realized she'd cooked my favorite meal. I realized had the most amazing girl in the world. It only made me wanna be with her that much more.

"Hey, one of my friends from class is throwing a little party on Christmas Eve. Wanna go?"

"I would, Georgie, but Mr. Rivers is having a party that night and I really have to be there. But, you go on and have fun."

"I can go to your party with you."

"No, it'll be boring. It's just the guys from the DX's he owns. It's the same thing every year, and if I didn't have to go, I wouldn't. I would never put you through that snooze fest."

She smiled.

"Steve will be there with me. Why don't you take Ponyboy and Amy to your party?"

"But then I'll be a third wheel."

"Take Two-bit. He'll keep you entertained."

"Okay. Sounds good."

 **Soda POV**

This party was so boring. The only good thing about it was that we got Christmas Bonuses of $100.00. Mr. River's daughter kept hitting on me even though she knew I had a girlfriend. It was getting really annoying...

I was getting tired of everything and stepped outside his house. It was a cold night, and all I kept thinking about was how much fun the rest of the gang was having while me and Steve were stuck here. Georgie, Two-bit, and Ponyboy were at a party and Darry was on a date.

"Hey, Sodapop."

I groaned inwardly and turned to the girl.

"Hey, Tracy."

"Whatcha doin' out here all by yourself?"

"Just getting some air."

She moved closer to me.

"Tracy, stop."

"Why do you like Georgie? She doesn't even dress like a girl."

She kept moving closer. I moved back until I hit the side of the house. She rubbed her body against mine. I couldn't help it, I took in a sharp breath.

"Feels good, huh?"

"Tracy... Stop..."

But I didn't stop her. I was weak. She starting touching me and I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed her and kissed her. It was a moment of weakness. Things were starting to get really heated...

"Soda?!"

I pushed Tracy away from me. She turned around and glared.

"Steve, get lost! We were kinda in the middle of something here!"

I pushed passed her.

"Soda, where you going?!"

She grabbed my arm. I turned on her.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Doesn't matter what she did, Sodapop! You went along with it!"

"I told her to stop..."

The look he gave me said it all.

"Yeah. It sure looked like you were trying to stop her with your hands on her ass and her leg around you. Find your own damn way home."

I had rode with him there. He got in his truck and left. I felt an arm go around my waist.

"Don't worry. I'll take you home in my car."

I pulled away from her.

"No thanks..."

I started walking home.

 **Steve POV**

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. He was lucky I didn't punch him. He may be my best friend, but Georgie's one of my best friends and this was going to crush her.

When I pulled up to their house, Darry was there. I walked in.

"Hey, Steve."

"We need to talk."

About an hour later, Georgie, Ponyboy and Two-bit walked in laughing and joking. This wasn't gonna be fun.

 **Darry POV**

"Hey, kiddo. I need you to go to your room for a few minutes. I need to talk to the guys."

She looked confused.

"Okay..."

When she shut the door to her and Soda's room, I motioned for the guys to follow me outside. I was talking quietly.

"Okay, this isn't easy for me to say, but Steve told me that at their Christmas party tonight, Soda cheated on Georgie..."

Ponyboy looked hot. So did Two-bit.

"In what way?"

Steve told them what he'd told me.

"I'm gonna kill him..."

Surprisingly, this came from Two-bit.

"Not if I get to him first!"

"No one's getting anyone..."

We all turned to see Georgie standing in the doorway.

"What did you hear?"

"Enough. Ponyboy, could you help me move my stuff into your room? That is if you don't mind me staying in there..."

"Of course not..."

He ran up the stairs. She looked at us again.

"No one is gonna hurt him. Got it?"

We nodded.

 **Soda POV**

I didn't go home for a while. I had no idea whether or not Steve had told on me. I finally got home around 2:00 in the morning. The house was dark except for the living room.

I walked in to see Darry sitting in his recliner.

"Decide to face the music?"

He looked mad, and I had never really made Darry mad before. I sat down on the couch with my head in my hands.

"I told her to stop..."

"But, did you stop her?"

"I had a moment of weakness. Georgie doesn't wanna do anything yet. It was built up sexual tension."

"That's not an excuse, Sodapop. Go to bed. We'll talk more tomorrow."

I went to my room, and my heart sank. All of her stuff was gone. Where did she go that fast?

 **Pony POV**

It was Christmas morning, but I didn't feel happy at all. My best friend spent half the night lying awake staring at the ceiling. She was scaring me because she wasn't crying, which meant she was numb. Her being numb was dangerous. She didn't get out of bed when I did. As it got later in the morning, I finally figured out she wasn't getting up. She wasn't sleeping, but she was staying in bed.

I walked out of my room and ran right into Sodapop. I glared.

"Merry Christmas, Pone..."

I just stared at him.

"If she hadn't told us we better not touch you, you'd be sorry right now."

He nodded. I could tell he'd been crying. I told Darry about Georgie, and we agreed that she needed a sedative.

I went and gave her one. About five minutes later, she started crying. I sat her between my legs and put my arms around her.

"I had been feeling loved for the first time in years..."

"I know, honey. I know..."

"That's what I meant that day. It doesn't matter of people love you or n-not. They're gonna h-hurt y..."

"Shhh... Don't talk anymore..."

She cried for about thirty minutes before she finally fell asleep. I walked back in the living room to find everyone there. I guess if there's one thing I can say about Sodapop, it's that he was being a man. He didn't try to avoid us.

It was awkward. We all talked, but he never said a word. Until he pulled out a box from his pocket. I was the only one to notice at first.

"What's that?"

"It was Georgie's Christmas present..."

I grabbed it and opened it. It was a ring...

"I was gonna ask her to marry me tonight. I was gonna do it on New Years, but changed my mind a couple days ago..."

I felt no sympathy for him.

"You should've thought about that before you cheated!"

We all started spitting out the worst insults we could think of. He just sat there and took it.

 **Dally POV**

I was pissed beyond belief. I never thought Sodapop would do that.

"Dal, what happens now?"

"I don't know... But I really wish I could get my hands on him..."

"You think she'll forgive him?"

"I don't know, Johnnycake. I don't know..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Disappeared

 **Pony POV**

It had been two months since Georgie had talked to Sodapop, but she wasn't mad. She was hurt. Soda wasn't much better. The house was out of whack. No one said anything. Georgie stopped going out other than school, and both of them ate in their rooms.

She was throwing herself into school and had got a part time as a waitress at the Dingo. Mostly at night. I honestly don't know when she slept. Soda could handle himself, but she couldn't. I knew that, so I was watching her as closely as I could.

 **Soda POV**

I had just pulled into the driveway. My last class was cancelled, so I came home to get ready for work. I wasn't expecting to see Georgie on the floor in the middle of the living room. She looked up at me.

"Soda, h-help me!"

She was having a panic attack. I ran to the bathroom to get her sedative and some water. She took it and clinched onto my shirt. This was the first time she had touched me since Christmas Eve when we told each other to have fun at our parties.

I put my arms around her. About five minutes later, Ponyboy walked in and ran to us. She immediately reached for him. I started to get up, but she grabbed my arm, so I sat down beside her again and rubbed her back while Ponyboy held her. She eventually reached for my hand and I held it. She started to drift off, so we helped her to Pony's and her room.

"Will you g-guys lay with me?"

I looked at Ponyboy. He nodded and we climbed in on either side of her. When we knew she was good and asleep, he patted my arm signaling me to get up.

"That was her last pill, Pony. You guys need to refill it."

"You'll have to do it on your way home from work. I've got a project I have to do. What happened?"

He gave me a look like it had to be my fault. I wanted to get mad, but stayed calm.

"I walked in and she was already having it. I got home about five minutes before you did."

He looked confused.

"I don't know why she was home. She always gets home after me on Tuesdays."

On my way home from work I picked up her refills. I pulled up, and she was sitting on the steps smoking.

"Hey."

"Hey, Soda..."

It was awkward.

"You feeling better?"

"Not really."

I got a good look at her and felt her head.

"You're a little warm."

"My throat hurts..."

"Come on, I'll make you some soup."

"You don't have to."

I held my hand out to help her up.

"I want to."

She took my hand and got up. She sat at the table while I made her soup. Ponyboy walked out of his room.

"How's your project going?"

He gave me a look. We hadn't talked since Christmas Eve, either. Other than the short conversation earlier today.

"I finally finished."

He sat down next to her and felt her forehead. I finished making her soup and put it in front of her. She motioned for me to sit down. Darry came in while she was eating. He looked surprised.

"Hey guys."

We all waved. It was awkward. Darry sat down.

"So, I see you're all in the same room."

We stayed silent. He sighed. Georgie spoke up next.

"I had a panic attack today..."

"You did?"

"Yeah.. If Soda hadn't come home early, I think I would've passed out. I had already been having it for ten minutes."

"Wait. Why were you both home early?"

We both spoke at the same time.

"My last class was cancelled."

We looked at each other.

"What caused it?"

"I have no idea, Darry. I was just walking through the living room when it happened. I had just walked in the door..."

"She's sick. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Maybe. Okay, kiddo. Go get some sleep. We'll see how you feel in the morning."

She nodded and got up and went to Pony's room.

"Well, you were in the same room."

"We had a conversation earlier, too."

Ponyboy spoke up next.

"She wanted both of us during it."

"She always does, Pony. That's not a surprise."

"Wait, what?"

She wanted me when she had panic attacks?

"She always says your name when she has one, but you're never here..."

I went to bed that night confused. She wanted me when she had panic attacks...

 **Pony POV**

The next few days, they went back to avoiding each other. One day, I got home late. Soda was in his room and Darry was in the kitchen.

"Hey, Pony. Where've you been?"

"I went to the movies. I didn't have homework today. Where's Georgie?"

"I guess in your room. I haven't seen her."

I walked in my room, but Georgie wasn't there. I went and knocked on Soda's door.

"Yeah?"

I opened it. It looked like he was doing his homework. He didn't look up when I came in. He was writing...

"Have you seen Georgie?"

He looked up at me.

"No. I came straight in my room. You can't find her?"

"Dammit!"

I walked to the kitchen, Soda followed me.

"Darry, Georgie's not here."

"She's probably at work."

"She quit her job. She didn't wanna have panic attacks at work."

Darry looked a little worried.

"Call Steve and Two-bit. Ask them if they've seen her. If not, let's wait a couple of hours and then we'll start looking..."

 **Steve POV**

It was 2:00 in the morning, and we'd all been searching for four hours meeting up at the house every hour to see if anyone had found her. I decided to check out the park. That's where I found her last time.

Sure enough. I pulled up, and there she was sitting by the fountain.

"Georgie?"

"Hey, Steve..."

I sat beside her.

"What's up? You haven't ran off in a long time..."

"I couldn't find my bookmark today. I hadn't seen it since before Christmas, so I went to look in Soda's room and found this..."

She pulled out the ring box from her hoodie pocket.

"Aw, shit..."

"It's engraved, too..."

"What does it say?"

"It says 'Georgie, Forever Mine'..."

"He was gonna ask you to marry him on Christmas Day..."

"That's not all I found... Why is he taking business classes? I thought you guys were studying mechanics?"

I told her about what Mr. Rivers had offered us. And how Soda had mentioned giving her a better life.

"Yeah, well... That worked out..."

"Do you want it to?"

She didn't answer the question.

"I just don't understand... If he wanted to make sure that we had a stable life and bought a ring, why did he do it? Why did he cheat with Tracy?"

"That's something you'll have to find out for yourself..."

 **Soda POV**

Everyone had made it back for the hour check-up except Steve. We finally heard his car coming up the driveway, and he walked in with Georgie trailing behind him. Ponyboy jumped up and hugged her.

"Where the hell have you been? You had me scared to death!"

"I'm fine, Ponyboy..."

She sat down on the couch. She looked exhausted.

"How long were you gone?"

"Since my last class ended..."

No one asked any more questions and everyone went to bed. I couldn't sleep. Some time during the night, I heard someone go outside. I decided to go, too. I needed a smoke.

"Hey."

She fell of the railing. It reminded me of that one time we fought, and we weren't even dating then.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I helped her up.

"Ow..."

"What is it?"

"I landed on my cigarette. I had just lit it."

I looked at her hand. It was a little burn. I pulled out my pack and handed her one.

"Since when do you carry your own pack?"

"Since I started smoking everyday."

She looked at me funny.

"You smoke everyday?"

"Don't you?"

She rolled her eyes. Good. She was annoyed. That's better than her being numb.

"I've always smoked like that. You, on the other hand, don't smoke unless you're really upset."

"I guess you could say I have been for a couple months..."

She started to tear up and turned away from me.

"Why did you run off?"

"Because I found this..."

She reached in her hoodie pocket and pulled out a box.

"Oh, shit..."

"Yeah... Oh, shit. That's what Steve said, too..."

She handed it to me. She started crying. She still wouldn't look at me.

"Knowing that you planned to propose makes it that much worse. I don't understand... If you've been planning this and going to school for business, why would you do that?"

"How'd you know about that? And how'd you find this?"

She turned to me, now angry.

"I was looking for my bookmark! You had your homework spread across your bed and I looked in the drawer!"

"Don't get mad..."

"I don't have a right to be?"

"No, you have every right. I just don't want you to be..."

"What do you expect?! Sodapop Curtis, I was in love with you! Hell, I'm still in love with you and you did this to me!"

She slapped me across the face, then put her hand over her mouth.

"I.. I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..."

"I deserve it. At least you didn't knock me out this time."

"The floor knocked you out. Not me..."

"But, your fist helped me meet the floor. We needed to get better acquainted, anyway."

She sighed.

"Don't do that..."

"Do what?"

"Be adorable when I'm mad at you... I had totally forgotten about that conversation..."

"I haven't... I remember everything about my life with you..."

She was silent for a minute.

"Why did you do it?"

I sighed.

"There's no real excuse for it... It was a moment of weakness..."

"So, you liked her..."

"No. I never liked Tracy. It was a weakness because she turned me on... She just walked up to me and started doing things to... You know... It was a stupid mistake. I'm nineteen, and I haven't done anything with anyone other than Sandy. It had been so long and I just lost control of my hormones..."

She was silent. I looked down at the ground. I was ashamed of what I'd done.

"So, it's my fault that you cheated..."

I popped my head up.

"No. It wasn't. You have every right to wait as long as you want, and I should've respected that... I lost control of myself, but that will never happen again..."

"How do I know that...?"

"Because these two months without you have been pure torture. I couldn't ever be with someone else... You're the only one for me..."

She was crying again.

"Hey, hey, come here. It's okay..."

I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back. It felt so good to be in her arms again...

"I forgive you..."

"Does that mean you'll give me another chance...?"

"Yeah... I will, but only if you're serious about us..."

I pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life..."

She smiled. I leaned down and kissed her. It was chaste, and it was perfect. I pulled back.

"I don't think we should get engaged yet. I need to prove myself to you."

"I agree."

"I'm going to bed. You staying with Ponyboy or coming with me?"

She thought about it for a minute.

"Let's go."

When we opened the door, Ponyboy was standing there.

"Soda, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah..."

"Georgie."

She looked scared. Pony rolled his eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt him or anything. Just wanna talk."

She nodded wide eyed and walked into Pony's room. He looked at me.

"I don't want you to feel like I love Georgie more than you. You're my brother, Sodapop. If she had done it to you, I would've reacted the same way..."

"I know that..."

"This is your second chance with her. Please don't screw it up. I can't go through that again without beating your face in..."

He smiled. I smiled back.

"You're not mad?"

"I am. I think she should have waited to get back together with you, but I can't change her mind. Just promise to try harder..."

"I promise..."

We hugged and he walked in his room and she walked out.

We went to my room and climbed into bed. I put my arm around her and she cuddled into me.

"I missed this..."

"I had this, just with Ponyboy. In a brotherly way, of course."

We fell asleep in each other's arms...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Letters

 **Georgie POV**

Me and Soda had been back together about two weeks. At first, it was a little weird, but we were starting to get back in our groove that we had before. I was just trying to trust him.

I had decided to go to the park after school one day and sit by the fountain.

"Why did you take him back?"

I jumped.

"Jeeze, Dally! Don't scare me to death!"

"Why did you take him back?"

"Because I can?"

"Don't be a smartass."

"Dally, I think he really felt bad. I'm gonna give him another chance. If he blows it a second time, then I know he doesn't really care about me..."

"I don't like it."

I rolled my eyes.

"You didn't like it when he hadn't done anything wrong... Look, Dal. I know you still see me as that thirteen year old little sister... I'll always be your little sister, but I'm not thirteen. I'm nineteen. I've gotta start making decisions for myself. I did."

"I know... It's hard to see you this way. I don't like you being an adult."

"I'm not an adult. I don't think I'll ever completely grow up. It's not my style."

He smirked.

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

When I got home that day, Ponyboy was already home.

"Hey, you got mail today. It's on the table."

"Thanks."

I opened the letter.

 _Dear Georgie,_

 _It's been a long time. Don't get mad, but Darry gives me updates. It's nice to know that you got a full scholarship because of your grades. You make me more and more proud everyday. I know you're going to do great things._

 _Love, Mama_

My heart sank. I know it's mean, but I never wanted to see or hear from my mom again. At least not without me making the first move. I let that one slide, but pretty soon I was getting a letter every week. It was starting to make me mad. She was making me feel guilty for not seeing her. She would write how much it'd mean to her for me to visit. Pretty soon the letters were turning mean. She was calling me ungrateful and a bitch. I guess Dally was right. Jail turns you mean...

 **Pony POV**

Something was off with Georgie. She seemed distant. Soda thought it was only to him, but I reassured him that she was doing it to me, too.

"What could be getting her down?"

"I don't know. We're out for the summer, so I don't know what's going on."

Pretty soon we were really worried. One day, I got home and found Georgie passed out. She had had a panic attack and had been home alone. That had never happened before. Dr. Matthews decided to admit her for a few days. Soda came into my room one night.

"Wake up!"

"What is it, Sodapop?"

"Look what I just found."

It was a stack of letters.

"I found them under our mattress. One was sticking out when I was changing the sheets. Just read one."

I read it and my blood boiled. No wonder she's been upset. We decided to pay her mom a visit. We asked Darry to come with us.

 **Janet POV**

I hated this place. I'd become bitter to everything. I saved my daughter, why hadn't she come to see me in three years? This was getting ridiculous. One day, I was led into a room and greeted by the Curtis Brothers. They all looked so different since the last time I'd seen them.

"Boys..."

"Mrs. Smith..."

"What do you want?"

Judge Jackson walked in then and handed me a piece of paper.

"This is the same order given to your husband. It's now being given to you. You can never have contact with your daughter again."

"Don't you think she should have a say in this? She is an adult now."

"She signed it. She said she's done with you, and after reading your letters, I don't blame her."

"All I wanted was to see her!"

"And you weren't patient. If you had been, she'd have probably come to see you in the next couple of years. You blew it."

Great... I would never see my daughter again... I really did love her...

 **Pony POV**

"You ready for our second year of college?"

"I guess... Pony?"

"Yeah?"

"Did my mom look different?"

"She looked meaner. I don't really know how to describe her."

She looked away.

"Do you regret your decision?"

"No... It just makes me think of something Dally used to say. About becoming mean in jail..."

"He said that to Johnny..."

"I guess it's true."

"I guess so..."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Summer

 **Georgie POV**

I had been driving Sodapop to and from school since I was out. It was nice being able to drive around. I even got to meet his friends one day when he never came out. I was walking the halls, lost and pissed, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Where are you going?"

"I was looking for you, you jackass! I've been waiting outside for fifteen minutes!"

I really wasn't that mad, but it was hot outside. I walked over to him and he just smiled. I glared.

"Guys, this beautiful thing right here is my woman, Georgie."

I had been a little mad, so I didn't even realize there were other people around him. I blushed.

"Hi..."

He kissed my cheek. I lightly slapped the side of his face.

"Ouch!"

I rolled my eyes.

"That didn't hurt."

"Just his pride. Hi, I'm Andrew."

The rest introduced themselves and we all stood there chatting. They were all nice for Socs. Then, this group of guys came up to us. The one guy had a smug smile on his face and nodded at me.

"Who's this, Pepsi?"

Soda glared. I realized these weren't friends. I looked at them with a sweet smile.

"If you're not smart enough to remember his name, then there's no point to tell you mine."

His smug smile turned into a glare.

"You got a smart mouth on you, girl."

"She does. One of the things I love about her."

Soda smiled and pecked me on the lips. My smart remark had cooled him off.

"You're with him?"

I gave the boy a look and then looked Soda up and down.

"I guess he'll do."

The guy smiled.

"I can do you better than he can."

This made my blood boil. Steve spoke next.

"Leave her alone, Keegan. Get out of here."

"Okay, but only if she comes with me."

He made a grab for me, I slapped him across the face.

"You bitch!"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. Keep those hands to yourself and nothing will happen to that pretty face."

He stormed off. I didn't get it. I didn't get why guys hit on me. I was nothing special.

 **Pony POV**

I started avoiding Georgie ever since her and Soda got back together, I couldn't look at them. I didn't really know why. One day, I was in my room drawing when she walked in.

"Hey, stranger."

"Hi..."

She sat on the bed. I turned to her.

"What do you want?"

She looked surprised.

"Did I do something? Why are you mad?"

I must have said it meaner than I meant.

"No, I'm not mad..."

I tried to say it calmly.

"Okay, then... Wanna go to the movies?"

I stared at her. I guess I didn't look happy because her face fell.

"No. I don't."

I got up and walked out into the living room. She followed me.

"What is your problem, Ponyboy? You've been acting this way for a while, now."

She looked sad.

"What's wrong with you? Tell me..."

"Nothing's wrong! Go back to your precious boyfriend!"

I was yelling. Why was I yelling? She looked taken aback.

"Does Sodapop have to do with how you've been acting?"

"No!"

"Then, who does?"

"YOU!"

About that time Soda came in the house, but he didn't say anything. He was just observing. That pissed me off for some reason.

"Me? What did I do?!"

"You took him back!"

Soda's eyes grew wide. I had been blocking my feelings out for so long, they were all coming to my head at one time.

"I don't understand..."

"No... I guess you don't... You never did!"

She had tears in her eyes.

"When did this become about me?"

"When I met you! _Everything's_ been about you since that day!"

She looked hurt. It made me feel bad.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm a lot of trouble, but you can always tell me and I'll back off..."

"That's not what I meant... That's not what this is about..."

She walked up to me.

"Then, I'm confused. Why are you...?"

"BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!"

I screamed it in her face. After I said it, my eyes got wide. I liked Georgie? When did that happen? I looked over at Soda, who looked wide eyed like me and I looked at Georgie and her mouth was open. I ran out if the house as fast as I could.

 **Soda POV**

We didn't move for five minutes after he left.

"This is turning out to be a great summer..."

She leaned against the wall and sank down. How do you deal with a situation like this? I could tell other guys to back off, but what was I suppose to do about my brother liking my girlfriend?

"Do you like him?"

She didn't even need time to think.

"I only see him as a brother. I've never seen myself with Ponyboy... I couldn't do it if I tried..."

I believed her. She always stuttered or spoke real low if she was lying. She didn't jumble over her words and she spoke clear. I sat down beside her, she sighed.

"I can't stay here."

I looked at her.

"Why not?"

"You guys have gotta figure this out, and him seeing me and you together all the time won't help. Plus, he won't come back if I'm here."

"Where are you gonna go?"

She thought about it for a minute.

"There's still a month left before school. Maybe I should go stay with Aunt Carol for a little while..."

"That's too far... You haven't even been there since that time we went together."

"Well, I don't know what else to do."

I tried to talk her out of it, but her mind was made up. She called her Aunt and stayed in a hotel that night. I took her to the airport the next day.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"You gotta better idea?"

"I'm scared you won't come back..."

She grabbed my face.

"I won't stay more than two weeks. I'm not going anywhere for good. But, you need to talk to Ponyboy. He won't come near the house right now if I'm there."

"How will he know you're gone?"

"I think you should tell Two-bit. If he asks how long I'll be gone, say you don't know, act upset about it. It'll get around to him eventually."

I kissed her and she was gone...

 **Pony POV**

I had stayed at Two-bit's that night. I wasn't planning on going back, but I needed some clothes. Two-bit went over to see if anyone was home. He came back about thirty minutes later.

"Jeeze, what took you so long, Two-bit?"

"Soda was there."

"Great..."

I couldn't go, now. Soda would beat my head in, I was sure of it.

"She's long gone, though..."

I looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"She left this morning."

"Who's she saying with? Julie?"

"Um... No."

"Okay?"

"She got on a plane this morning, Pony..."

As soon as he said those words, I ran down to my house. He had to be lying. I ran in the door and Sodapop was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

"Where is she?"

He never looked up.

"Halfway to Florida by now..."

I sat in the chair.

"How long she gonna be gone?"

He looked up at me. He'd been crying.

"I don't know. She didn't say..."

I couldn't believe it... She'd left...

 **Georgie POV**

Sodapop had called me and told me what happened. Even how he made himself look like he was crying.

"I think he's buying it."

"Okay, I came up with that part of the plan. It's your turn."

We were on the phone.

"I think you should kiss him."

I about dropped it.

"WHAT?!"

"Sweetheart, don't shout!"

"Sorry, Aunt Carol!"

I was shocked.

"Okay. Just out of curiosity, why would you _want_ me to kiss your brother who just so happens to like me? That's crazy!"

"Do you feel a something when we kiss?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, if you kiss him, then he'll realize there's nothing between you."

"What if he does feel something? Then what?"

"It doesn't work that way. He'll know. If he does feel something, though, then me and you have a problem."

I could hear the humor in his voice. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you rolling your eyes, yet?"

"Shut up..."

A week went by. I had decided I was gonna go home in two days. I was lounging on my bed bored outta my mind.

"Honey, someone's here to see you!"

"Who would be here to see me?"

"I'm not going to say. They're in the den."

I walked down the stairs and down the hall. Needless to say, I was shocked when I turned into the den.

"Ponyboy?!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: St. Augustine

 **Pony POV**

It'd been six days since she left. Sodapop was moping around. I was afraid that she'd never come back... I decided to get up all my money and get a train to Florida. When no one was home I went and found a letter from her Aunt and got the address.

The train ride was long and tiring. When I got to St. Augustine, I decided to take a cab to the house. I'd never be able to find it on my own.

When I got out and looked at the house, I was stunned. The house was huge! I couldn't believe that she _didn't_ want to live here. I walked up to the door and knocked.

"Can I help you? Wait... You look familiar."

"Hi, Mrs. Folley. It's me, Ponyboy."

"My, you sure have grown up!"

"Yes, ma'am. Is Georgie here?"

"Yes. Come in and sit. I'll go get her for you."

She's a lot nicer than she was when she came to the house that night. I was starting to wonder if I should be here. My hand were sweaty, and I felt like I was gonna pass out. Then, she walked into the room.

"Ponyboy?!"

I jumped to my feet. I didn't know why, though. I didn't move from my spot.

"What're you _doing_ here?"

Her eyes got wide.

"Wait, do Soda and Darry know?"

I looked down.

"No..."

She rolled her eyes and walked to the phone.

"Hey, Sodapop, are you missing something? I know because he's here. I don't know..."

She looked at me.

"How'd you get here?"

"A train and a cab..."

"A train and cab... Uh-huh... Uh-huh... Yeah, I will. Okay... Bye."

She hung up the phone.

"They've been looking for you since late last night. They even called the cops!"

"They wouldn't have let me come..."

"You could've left a note or something!"

"Because that's sure what you do when you disappear is leave us a note! Stop yelling at me!"

She sighed and sat down. I didn't know what to say...

"What are you doing here?"

"Soda's real worried about you. We're afraid you won't come back... Although, after looking at this place I wouldn't blame you..."

"It's nice, but this house is _nothing_ compared to St. Augustine itself."

She gave me a look and stood up.

"I'll be right back..."

After a few minutes, she came back dressed. She looked real nice.

"Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"You're not coming here and not letting me take you on a tour! I'm the best tour guide ever!"

She smiled at me. I smiled sadly back... She was being real nice about this...

Georgie POV

I decided to stay another week instead of going home early. I showed Ponyboy all over St. Augustine, just like I did Sodapop. I showed him the fort, the old town, the Huguenot Cemetery, the lighthouse, the Old St. Johns County Jail, and my favorite, the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum.

On our last night, we were walking down the beach.

"I wish the sun set in the east. I'd love to see a sunset on water."

"The moonlight on the water's pretty... Just like you..."

I was getting flashbacks of me and Daniel. I knew I needed to do this soon.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that..."

"No, it's okay."

"Really?"

"Really."

This felt so weird to me. I loved Ponyboy, but like a brother. Hearing him say I was pretty just made me feel funny.

"Why do you like Sodapop?"

"Why would you ask that? He's your brother, you know everything about him."

"Yeah, but... Me and you... We're so much alike..."

"Yeah, we are. Sometimes it's a little scary how alike we are..."

"Don't you think that means something?"

"I don't know, Ponyboy..."

He sighed.

"You don't love me, do you?"

He sat down on the sand. I sat next to him.

"Ponyboy Curtis, don't say that! I do love you..."

"Just not like you love Sodapop... I don't get it. I really don't... You guys are so different..."

He was really beat up about this.

"Are we?"

He shrugged.

"Maybe we're not suppose to understand it, Ponyboy... _Fate_ has a weird way of working things out..."

"Does it? Because I don't know how I'm suppose to _stop_ liking you... I didn't even know I did until..."

"Until what?"

"Well, it started after we saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid..."

"But, you said...?"

"I know what I said... I didn't mean it... I just went along with it because you said it wouldn't work... It got even worse after seeing you so hurt from Sodapop and taking him back so easily."

I turned his face to look at me.

"It wasn't easy... It was really hard to do it. A couple of weeks went by after we got back together before it started to feel _remotely_ normal again."

"I don't know what to do..."

"Me neither..."

We sat there for a moment and he looked at me. I stared into those green/grey eyes that he hated so much. To me, they were beautiful. I was looking into the eyes of my brother. He spoke up, eyeing my lips.

"What do we do now?"

I just stared at him. He was asking me something with his eyes. I nodded. He started moving closer, and our lips touched. I made sure to give him a real kiss and not just a peck. It last about thirty seconds and he finally pulled away.

Pony POV

When she nodded, my heart just about beat out of my chest. I moved closer to her and kissed her. She deepened it. She really knew how to kiss. I pulled away. I was just staring at her.

"What?"

"It felt like..."

"Yeah...?"

"Like I was kissing my sister..."

I felt nothing... As a matter of fact, it felt almost gross. I felt like I just made out with my sister. She crinkled her nose.

"Okay, don't use that phrase. That sounds weird..."

"But, it was so gross!"

"Hey!"

She glared.

"I didn't mean it like that! You're a good kisser, but..."

"There's nothing there. I know."

She had a smug smile on her face.

"Did you know that would happen if we kissed?"

"Sodapop did!"

"What?! Soda _told_ you to kiss me?"

"Yeah."

She laughed.

"Why would he tell you that?!"

"Because he knew you'd feel nothing."

"Why did I think I liked you?"

She shrugged.

"Because we are so much alike. Butch and Etta could've been lovers. Me and you? We're more like twins."

"You're right. I'm sorry..."

She looked surprised.

"For what?"

"Getting feelings I didn't even have."

"I probably would've done the same thing if I didn't have Sodapop."

"You're not gonna be weird around me, right?"

I was worried after this, things wouldn't be the same. I wanted it to go back to how it was before.

"I'm always weird around you. That's why we're best friends, because we're both weird."

I rolled my eyes.

"Come here."

We hugged. She was my best friend. It was weird that five minutes ago I was falling for the girl. Now, all I saw was my sister.

"You ready to go home tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am."

Riding on a plane was cool. Soda said he'd been scared. I don't know why, it was cool to me. Sodapop picked us up from the airport. Georgie ran into his arms and he kissed her. I smiled.

"So, Pony, you still want my girl?"

"Nah. She's annoying. You can have her back."

"Hey!"

We all laughed. It felt good to have things like they used to be.

Soda POV

That night, the whole gang hung out. We hadn't done that in a while, and it was nice. Especially seeing Ponyboy and Georgie like they used to be. We crawled into bed later that night exhausted. I put my arms around her. I had missed her.

"Did you kiss him?"

"Oh, yeah. I _really_ kissed him."

I chuckled.

"Not exactly what I wanna picture."

"Yeah. Good thing you we're halfway across the country!"

"What happened after that?"

"He told me it was gross. I was highly offended!"

I laughed.

"Trust me, you're a good kisser."

"Really, now?"

I leaned down and kissed her.

"Yeah. You are."

We went to sleep peacefully in each other's arms that night. I couldn't wait to make her officially mine...

 **Author's note: I know this is a little different than Fate and that the it's moving along fast, but it's suppose to. This is suppose to show their lives, so there will be jumps. You'll just have to bare with me. Love you guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Grades

 **Georgie POV**

I had been making good grades. Me and Ponyboy had just started back to school. I usually made Bs. I hardly ever made As, but Bs were good enough. I don't know how Ponyboy did it. Soda was making good grades, too. I agreed to keep his secret from the rest of the gang. If I made As a lot, it wasn't a good thing...

 **Darry POV**

Their midterms were coming up. It was October, so they had been bringing grades home. Sodapop came to me one night looking concerned...

"Hey, Darry. We need to talk."

"Okay. What about?"

He handed me some papers. They were all grades Georgie had received in the past month. They were all As.

"Oh, man..."

She got an A every once in a while, but if she got a lot in a row, it meant something was wrong because she was trying to avoid the world around her.

"She's been acting funny, always studying. I decided to look in her bag, this is what I found."

"Has Ponyboy said anything?"

"No. He's been studying for his midterms, so he hasn't noticed. I think I've only noticed cause we're in the same room... I don't know what could be going on."

"Well, Dr. Matthews said that she'd suffer from her past for the rest of her life. Maybe she's been thinking about it a lot lately."

"She hasn't been sleeping. Every morning I wake up, and she's on the couch wide awake..."

That was new. She was always the one we practically had to drag out of bed.

"I can take her to Dr. Matthews."

"I don't think that'll help."

"What're you guys talking about?"

"Nothing..."

Georgie had walked in. She'd been out with a friend of hers.

"What's that?"

She was pointing to the papers. I put them in a kitchen drawer near me.

"Some bills."

"Are we struggling with bills?"

She sat down.

"No, kiddo. Just looking through them."

"I can get a job if I need to."

Soda spoke, then.

"You're busy enough as it is going to school full time. We're fine."

 **Georgie POV**

They didn't know this, but I already had a job. I only worked three days a week, so no one really got suspicious. I worked in the library so I could read all the time. It kept me distracted so I wasn't just sitting at home after I did my homework... The only problems I had were when Ponyboy came in. I'd have to hide in the back.

But, one day, I was the only one working and he walked in. I was hoping he wouldn't need to check anything out... I had been putting up some books.

"Excuse me?"

I turned around to see him walking towards me, but he was looking down at his book.

"I'm ready to check out these..."

He had looked up at me by then and stopped.

"You work here?"

"Yeah..."

"That's cool! How long?"

I didn't wanna say...

"A little over a month."

"Why didn't you tell me? Do Darry and Sodapop know?"

"No..."

He eyed me.

"I thought we were done with secrets."

"This isn't a big deal, though..."

"Then why not tell us?"

"They don't want me to have a job. I don't know why, either."

"So you can focus on school."

"I'm making straight As. This isn't messing with school."

"You're making straight As?"

Oh, crap! Why did I say that...

"Yeah, I am. At the moment, anyway."

"Is something wrong?"

There was, but I couldn't say. I rolled my eyes.

"No, nothing's wrong."

"Okay..."

 **Pony POV**

I knew she was lying. I don't know how, but I did. Another month went by. She even made an A on all her midterms. One day, I was stopped by our non-fiction teacher. Georgie was waiting for me.

"Georgie, this is a private discussion about Ponyboy's grades."

She nodded and left the room and shut the door.

"My grades? I thought my grades were good."

"They are, I just needed to get her out of the room. I thought you should know something. You live with her, right?"

"Yes, sir?"

"She's been doing excellent, but I'm concerned because of the content."

"The content?"

"Yeah. When she first was in this class in September, a lot of her writing was happy. It's turned... Concerning..."

He handed me a sheet of paper.

"This was the assignment from last week where I told you to just write what you were really feeling. This is what she wrote."

I started reading it.

 _Why am I so tired but can't sleep? I ask myself that question every day, thenI think about it_

 _I'm fighting a war inside my head. How do you win against your own thoughts? The monsters you created yourself. It doesn't make sense. That you can have the best life, and still feel so empty. I'm tired of feeling alone. Feeling like I'm the only one who feels this way. Feeling defeated by a world that's always failed me. Now the world is finally on my side and I still feel empty. Maybe I'm not meant to feel anything. Maybe I'm more like my brother than I'd like to be. He had everything he needed, and he hated the world anyway. I guess we're the same. And that scares me..._

I stared at the paper. He told me I could keep it. I'm glad he did, I needed to talk to the gang... The whole gang... She can't think she's like Dallas... She can't...

 **Johnny POV**

"Good goin', Dal..."

"Like I was suppose to know? And you looked up to me, so stop it."

I could tell he felt bad. Ever since we died, I've seen a side of Dally no one saw. He really did care about all of us. About the world. He did realize what the world had given him, he just realized it too late. I was telling all this when he stopped me.

"She wouldn't believe me if I tried to tell her that, now. I screwed up her mind..."

"No more than her parents. Y'all's mom taught her how to be that way. To hold everything in. Her dad taught her to be ashamed of herself... You tried to teach her not to feel. She feels too deeply, like Ponyboy."

"And because of all that, she's screwed up..."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Confusion

 **Soda POV**

Georgie hadn't been coming straight home as often. She thought no one noticed, but I did. I think she forgot sometimes that she was in a house that cared about her. That thought scared me.

Our parents, they were the best anyone could have. The rest of the gang was better at handling those types of situations with parents that didn't care, but not her. I think Ponyboy would've been the same way if we'd had parents like that. I probably would've been, too.

Ponyboy walked in one day with a weird look on his face.

"We need to talk..."

"Okay... Shoot..."

"No. I need to talk to the _whole_ gang. Without Georgie..."

"That's gonna be hard... She's gonna be here..."

"No. She won't. She works till 9:00 tonight."

"Oh, that's... Wait, what?!"

"Yeah... She works at the library..."

"How long has she worked there?"

"About two months."

That shocked me.

"How long have you known?"

"A month. She didn't want you guys to know. She didn't want _me_ to know. I was there one day..."

"Why didn't you tell me...?"

He looked down.

"I didn't think it was a big deal..."

Around 8:00 that night, everyone except Georgie was home. Ponyboy started by telling everyone about her job. Darry sighed.

"I told her she didn't need to get a job..."

I spoke up next.

"I don't think that's why she got it... She's distracting herself..."

"Yeah, from this."

He pulled out a piece of paper.

"We had an assignment last week. To write down exactly how we felt any way we wanted..."

He handed it to Darry and his face paled.

"What is it?"

He read it out loud. Everybody was silent... I put my head in my hands.

"She was doing so good for a while..."

Ponyboy spoke up next.

"It'll come and go. That's how it is with me."

A thought occurred to me. I stood up and walked to Ponyboy.

"Pony, you haven't been able to let your guard down since she's been here, have you?"

His face softened.

"She needs us... How can I?"

I realized it'd been a long time since any of us had really broken down because we'd been focusing on her.

"We have to focus on ourselves, too... We've all got to find a balance. She's gonna have to learn its not all about her..."

That came from Steve.

"Yeah... But, how do we do that?"

"I don't know... Is she doing it for attention?

Ponyboy shook his head.

"I don't think so, Steve. She didn't want us to find out. Our teacher gave it to me because he was concerned."

"She's got to learn to be happy with what she's got. It's killing all of us, you know. Worrying about her..."

"Enough."

Darry stern voice spoke over the group. He looked tired.

"It really doesn't matter. You can tell her all day to be happy, that doesn't change anything. I'm just not sure what the best thing to do is..."

No one said anything. We just sat quietly waiting for her to come home.

 **Georgie POV**

I had been outside listening the whole time. I had gotten off early. I couldn't believe it. I'd been selfish... How could I have been so selfish? Living here was a mistake. I just made their lives worse. My _family's_ lives worse...

I left the house, I knew what I needed to do...

 **Darry POV**

She never came home that night. We searched all over, but you couldn't file a missing persons report until they'd been missing for twenty-four hours. I went to work after Ponyboy told us that he was sure she'd be at school.

That afternoon I got home to see the whole gang sitting in the living room. Sodapop had a piece of paper in his hands.

"What's going on?"

Soda handed the note to me.

 _Darry, Soda, Pony, Steve, and Two-bit_

 _I'm not happy here. I'll never be. Tulsa's not my home. It never could be. I know you guys tried, but it's just not working. You guys just aren't my family. You could never be. Sorry I wasted almost five years of your lives. You tried your best. Sodapop, find someone who loves you like you deserve._

 _Georgie_

My heart stopped. I looked up at the gang. They all looked like someone had died. Ponyboy spoke up.

"It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it does..."

Sodapop was taking this hard.

"I guess she was just trying to make all of us feel better..."

"She'd wasn't in class today... Where would she have gone?"

"I don't know..."

 **Georgie POV**

It'd been a month since I'd left Tulsa for St. Augustine. I knew none of them would think of me living with Aunt Carol.

I called her that night. She transferred me to a school in St. Augustine and I told her what happened. She tried to get me to talk to the boys, but I didn't. They'd move on, I couldn't be a burden again.

"What're you doing?"

"My homework?"

"Cut the crap!"

"Shut up, Dally!"

"Go home!"

"I can't! I was selfish!"

"You don't think _this_ is selfish? Leaving the boys, making them think you didn't really care about them?"

"It was the only way they'd let me go! You heard them, I know you did! I can't believe I didn't think about their feelings or problems for five years!"

"You could've just worked on it! Instead, you're making it about yourself because you won't face your problems!"

"I can't have them mad at me!"

"You don't think they are?!"

"They're better off without me!"

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"They think you really wasted five years of their lives making them care about someone who didn't care about them!"

"Leave me alone, Dallas!"

"No! I won't leave you alone! You and Ponyboy are cutting, something's gotta change!"

"Wait... What...?"

He sighed.

"Nothing..."

"Did you say Pony's cutting?"

"Yeah... He's the only one that doesn't believe what you wrote, which fits cause you didn't mean it. Soda's starting to sleep around and get into trouble. He's gonna flunk out of school if he doesn't pick his grades up next semester. He'll pass this one, but he won't next quarter of he keeps this up..."

I walked to the window.

"Soda's sleeping around?"

"Yeah. He is. And Two-bit and Steve don't really come over anymore."

"Why not?"

"Two-bit doesn't because it's no fun, and Steve and Soda don't get along since Soda started doing all kinds of stuff. I'm not gonna go into detail..."

I couldn't believe my ears.

"They didn't do that when you and Johnny died... Why...?"

"Because you've got this light in you..."

My eyes widened and I became scared...

"Sandy?!"

"Don't freak! I'm here to help!"

I started breathing hard. Dally was up and next to me in a second.

"Hey, don't. No one's home, so Carol can't give you a sedative. Don't freak out..."

I calmed myself down. Dally told me to lay down.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay."

I felt a wave of guilt rush over me. Sandy couldn't have any idea how deep down I felt like her death was my fault. She sighed.

"My death wasn't your fault, Georgie. It was my own. Just like Dally's, and just like your's would've been if you'd succeeded. And stop thinking about killing yourself now. It's not gonna happen on our watch..."

"How am I suppose to fix this...?

Dally spoke next.

"You better come up with something..."

"I can't face them now. I made a bad situation worse..."

 **Soda POV**

I was sitting in a meadow. I didn't know how I'd gotten here, I had just been at home.

I had been drinking a lot. And hanging out with Tim a lot. Darry and Steve were starting to get frustrated with me and Two-bit didn't hang around anymore. Ponyboy didn't talk at all. I can't believe I loved someone who never loved me.

"What are you doing with your life, Sodapop?"

I froze.

"Mom...?"

She sat down next me me. I hugged her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you. You've been worrying me."

"Yeah, well. Why does anything matter anymore..."

"Soda, do you really think that girl didn't love you?"

"She practically said so in her note..."

"But, you _knew_ her, Sodapop. Think about it."

I sat there for a minute.

"If that's true, then what happened, what's going on?"

"Think about the night she left."

I thought really hard, but it wasn't coming to me.

"You guys were all talking about her. Remember?"

"Yeah... But she wasn't home. She wouldn't have..."

"Unless she was right outside the door..."

I looked at my mom.

"She thought she was a burden, Sodapop."

"We didn't mean it like that. We were just..."

"She realized right then what she'd put you guys through..."

"But we would do it all over again... We would..."

"I know that."

"But, then the letter... Why would she...?"

"Making you think she didn't love you guys was the only way to make sure no one came after her... She thought you guys would get over it and things would be better..."

"Where would she go? Pony said she's not going back to school."

"Maybe not that school. Maybe she transferred."

"How could she afford to...?"

Then, it dawned on me and I sat up with a jolt. I looked around. I was in my bedroom. It was a dream...

 **Sandy POV**

"You think he bought it?"

"I sure hope so. She's not gonna make the first move, but he might."

"Why didn't you mess with Ponyboy's dreams?"

"He's already having a hard time with this."

I looked down.

"I'm surprised you're letting me help."

"You've been punished enough for what you did."

"When did Dallas Winston become sweet?"

He half smiled.

"The day I found Georgie walking the streets in New York. I didn't think I cared about anyone until it scared me to death thinking of what could've happened had I not found her. Everyone in our neighborhood knew after that day not to touch her. I made that clear."

I smiled. Dallas Winston did have a heart.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Change

 **Georgie POV**

It was December, and school was almost over this semester. I only had two more finals, and I aced the two I had already taken. I walked into the house, and Aunt Carol was in the den.

"You got a phone call today."

I sighed.

"What did he want?"

"It wasn't Daniel..."

Daniel was single again. He'd taken me on a couple of dates, but I told him I wasn't feeling it. He kept trying, though.

"It was Sodapop."

I felt the all the color drain from my face.

"You told him I wasn't living here, right? I told you to if they ever called..."

She looked down. I groaned.

"Aunt Carol, how could you?!"

"This whole mess is eating you alive. You're not even yourself anymore!"

"What do you mean?"

"Just look at you! You've been wearing dresses, makeup, high heels, and curling your hair!"

"I thought that's what you wanted!"

She sighed and sat back down.

"I want my niece back... I know you're doing this, all of this, to avoid everything. You can't run from your problems... You're mother did that..."

I sat down in the chair.

"I'm becoming mom..."

"Well, she avoided her problems. So did your brother..."

When I came here, I broke down and told her everything. Even everything about Dally... How close he was to the gang and everything.

"I never met the kid, but I remember your mom being heart broken about it. I tried to get her to leave your father and come here when she got pregnant. Instead, she handed him off to a deadbeat dad who didn't care about him. She didn't want to take responsibility for her actions. I'm surprised she finally went to the cops about you..."

"She cared... She just didn't know what to do with it..."

"That's partly our mom's fault. I tried to be there for Janet, but she wouldn't let me..."

"I'm becoming her..."

She came to my side and made me stand up.

"You don't have to. You're not your mother, and you're not Dallas. You just need to be Georgie."

I teared up.

"I don't even know who that is, anymore..."

"Who really knows who they are at twenty years old?"

"What did Sodapop say?"

 **Soda POV**

The dream I had had the night before made me wonder if it was true. There was only one thing I could do to prove it. To see if she was really staying at her Aunt Carol's because it's the last place we'd expect her to be... I grabbed the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi... Um... Is Georgie there?"

"No...? She lives in Tulsa..."

I could tell by her voice that she was confused. She thought she still lived with us...

"Okay... Thanks, Mrs. Folley..."

"Wait, who is this? I recognize that voice..."

"It's um..."

I debated whether or not to tell her the truth..

"It's Sodapop Curtis, ma'am..."

"Oh, my..."

"She moved out..."

"I see..."

"Sorry to have bothered you..."

I hung up the phone. It wasn't a minute later that it rang.

"Hello?"

"Sodapop, she's here...

"She is?! Can I talk to her?!

"Well, she's not _here_ here. She's at school right now."

I felt a wave of relief come over me. I knew she was safe.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

She sighed.

"That's what she told me to say if anyone ever called... But, I can't do that. I can't lie to you... I think there's been a misunderstanding."

"I do, too..."

"I don't know what to do with her..."

"How're her grades?"

"Perfect. Why?"

"Crap... That's not necessarily a good thing..."

"I think I understand what you mean..."

There was a long silence, neither of us knowing what to say...

"Is she okay?"

"It depends on what you mean by _okay._ She's safe. At least from everything but herself... I can tell her to call you back, but I don't know if she will..."

"Please tell her I _want_ to talk to her. That I miss her..."

"I will, Sodapop... I will..."

 **Georgie POV**

That made me feel awful knowing that he missed me. Dally was right...

"What do I do...?"

"Call him back?"

I shook my head.

"I don't think that'll be enough..."

"Well, you've only got a week left of school... We'll talk about it more, later. Right now, I want you to take a sedative and go to sleep..."

I walked up the stairs to my bathroom. I just stared at myself in the mirror.

"Take your sedative..."

I saw Dally in the mirror. I turned around to face him wrapping my arms around myself.

"I don't want it..."

"You need it... You need some sleep, you've barely had any. It's starting to make you sick..."

I hadn't been feeling so hot.

"I didn't get the flu shot... I wasn't home, so Darry couldn't make me..."

His eyes shot up to meet mine.

"Did you hear what you just said?"

"That I didn't get the flu shot?"

"No... That you weren't _home_... This isn't home. This could never be home for you... Your home's in Tulsa... That's where you belong."

"But, I told the guys it couldn't be..."

"You were lying..."

" _I_ know I was lying, but they don't. How can I face them, now? This is the worse thing I've ever done to them..."

"The worse thing you ever did to them was running out in front of a car."

"I wasn't thinking clearly when I did that..."

"No, you weren't. Don't you remember what you said to Soda after you woke up?"

I wracked my brain, but couldn't remember what I had said...

"No... I don't."

I walked into my bedroom and sat by my window looking at the clouds. It was about to rain, so I smiled. I loved the rain.

"I remember telling Ponyboy about the clouds... And the rain..."

Dally smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you were pretty high on pain meds when you talked to Darry and Soda after the accident. It makes sense you don't remember it..."

"What did I say?"

"You said that after the car thing, this was your last chance at life. That you wouldn't risk your life again. That you would do anything to keep from messing it up..."

"Yeah, well my life's not at risk, but I did mess everything up."

"I think your life is at risk."

I looked up at him confused. He sighed.

"You're suicidal, you're just more grown up now so you can fight it better. You're changing yourself, too. You hate those clothes you have on. They're not you. And even if you don't kill yourself, you're sick."

"I just feel a little under the..."

"No. I know you have bulimia. That you've had it since you were sixteen."

My eyes shot up to Dally's.

"Why did you start that?"

I looked down.

"When those rumors started going around about me being pregnant at school, people were using my weight against me and I was _losing_ weight because I was so depressed. I had always been a big girl, but it had never bothered me before that..."

"That's slowly killing you, you know..."

I sighed and looked at my hands.

"You bite your nails like Johnny used to."

I smiled.

"He bit his?"

"Oh, yeah. He bit them bad."

He smiled.

A week went by and nothing really changed. I passed my last two finals with flying colors and the semester was done. It was December 22 and I was starting to get restless being in the house all day.

"Dear?"

"Yeah?"

I was laying in my bed. I could tell the flu was just around the corner and my depression wasn't helping it. Aunt Carol sat on the edge and I turned to face her.

"Sodapop called earlier while you were sleeping."

I groaned. He'd called every day. I still hadn't talked to him.

"You can't go on like this, Georgie. It's not healthy. You don't sleep, and if you don't have anything to read, you just lie there or walk aimlessly around the house. You're going to have to do something, sweetheart. You can't avoid them forever..."

I nodded... I didn't like to think about what was to come...

 **Soda POV**

The gang had gotten closer again because we'd had a little meeting. I had called it and apologized to the group. We had talked about Georgie, too. Turns out, no one in the group really thought she didn't care.

It was Christmas Eve and me and Steve were driving home from our last night of working. We were gonna have a week off, and it felt good to get a break.

"Hey, there's a Soc girl walking up there. Why would she be walking on our side of town?"

There was a car beside her, a corvette. I guessed it was a girlfriend who was mad.

"Uh-oh... Tim's going up to her."

I knew what would happen. He'd threaten her and the car until she got in because she was so scared and they'd leave. To our surprise, the car sped away without the girl.

"He's hugging her... Why's he hugging her?"

When we got closer her back was turned, but they were just talking.

"I wonder what that was about."

"No idea..."

 **Georgie POV**

I had been stopped five times. Three times by greasers, two times by Soc's. The greasers would be coming to mess with me until they realized who I was and the Soc's were trying to get me to get in their cars so that I could go back to their side of town. I would tell them I was a greaser, and they'd laugh and try to force me until Tim was finally able to chase them off with them yelling they'd be back for me. I didn't realize my appearance would matter so much, but I had left Tulsa with none of my clothes and only had the clothes I had bought in Florida.

"Thanks, Tim."

He did a double take at me.

"Miss Trouble?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. What were you doing defending a Soc?"

I crossed my arms and gave him a look.

"I wouldn't normally. I don't know why I did.. I guess somehow I knew you wasn't one. Come here."

He pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"How's Curly?"

"In the cooler. Tried to lift the DX. That kid is an idiot. Where ya headed? Ain't seen you around in a while."

"Yeah, um... I was heading to the Curtis house..."

He looked at me funny.

"Ain't that your house, too?"

"Not at the moment..."

"Well, I'll walk ya. Don't need no greasers or Soc's messing with ya."

We walked and talked. He let me know what had been going on. Including with Sodapop hanging around him a while.

"He's stopped comin' around, though. Doesn't drink or smoke weed anymore either."

That gave me a little relief. As we got closer to the house, I felt like I was gonna pass out...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Scared

 **Georgie POV**

We were two houses away when I stopped.

"I don't think I can do it..."

Tim looked at the house and back at me.

"I'm guessing you left on bad terms?"

I nodded. I started walking towards the stayed with me.

"You don't have to walk with me."

"Yeah, I do. At least I do with you in those clothes. Now, what's going on, Miss Trouble?"

I told him some of what happened.

"How'd you end up walking down the road?"

"I took a cab to the edge of the east side and started walking from there."

"You didn't have no bags?"

"I left them at the airport. There was no way I was walking with them... They'll hold them for me..."

"What're gonna do?"

"Who's that?"

We both turned to the voice and Mikey was staring back at us. It took him a second to realize who I was.

"Georgie!"

He ran up and hugged me. I liked Mikey. He was one of the sweetest guys I had ever met. A good friend of mine. I hated it that he was in Tim's gang. He was too nice.

"Where have you been, girl? Man you look weird. I thought you'd left for good."

"Yeah, I think she did, too."

Tim went on to tell him why I had left. We had made it to the park by then and went and sat on the merry-go-round.

"What're you gonna do? It's too cold for you to stay out here. Especially in a dress..."

"Don't even mention the dress... And I don't know..."

"Is there anybody in your gang you'd be willing to talk to? Any of them at all?"

I thought about it for a minute then looked up at Mikey.

 **Darry POV**

We were all sitting around having a good time, but I could tell it wasn't the same. Around 10:00 there was a knock at the door. Ponyboy answered it.

"Darry, it's for you!"

I walked over to see Mikey standing there.

"Darry, Tim wants to talk to ya."

"Well, can't it wait two days?"

He shook his head.

"Nope. Says it's real important. Also said to come alone."

I tried to think if I'd done anything to piss Tim off.

"Look, if you guys are gonna gang up on me..."

Soda was behind me. Mikey laughed a little.

"No one's fightin'. He just wants to talk."

"Darry's not going anywhere without us."

The gang all agreed with him. Mikey sighed.

"Look, Darry. You know I would tell you if something was gonna happen. You can't come if you bring the gang, and if you don't come it's gonna be bad. Not for you, for someone else."

"Are you threatening me?"

That's what it sounded like. That he was threatening if I didn't come someone would get hurt.

"No, I ain't threatening you! I didn't mean it like that! Just, please trust me. It's important."

"No, he ain't going without us..."

"Soda..."

Mikey sighed defeated...

"Someone's in trouble, Darry. That's why Tim sent me. He needs help."

He started to walk away.

"Wait!"

I turned back to look at Soda.

"I'm going."

"Darry..."

"If I'm not back in an hour, come looking. I'll be fine."

We drove in my truck to the park. Tim was sitting on the merry-go-round. We walked up to him.

"Tim."

"Darry."

"What was so important?"

"Someone's lost and can't find their way home."

This confused me. He nodded towards the fountain.

"I thought you could help them."

He and Mikey walked away. I looked over at the fountain to see someone's head on the other side. For a moment, I thought he'd killed someone and was putting it on me, but the head moved. I walked over to the fountain.

"Hello?"

The person jumped.

"Darry?"

The voice was strained. They were crying.

"Who is that?"

The person stood up and walked around the fountain. She stopped about three feet in front of me. It was dark, so all I could see was that it was a girl. A Soc girl. What Soc girl knew me?

"Follow me."

I followed her to a street light. Her back was turned to me. She slowly turned around. My eyes about bugged out of my head. For a second, we just stood there. I was taking in her appearance. She looked like a Soc, and she couldn't have weighed more than 120 pounds.

After a minute or two, I ran up and grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up. She put her arms around my neck.

"Where the _hell_ have you been, kiddo?!"

"It's a long story..."

I finally put her down. She was shivering.

"Come on, let's go to the truck."

When we got in, I turned it on and turned on the heat.

"Where have you been?"

"Aunt Carol's... I heard everything that night..."

"What night?"

"The night I left... I was standing outside the door from the time you read my assignment until you told everyone to shut up..."

I wracked my brain then remembered.

"I had never realized how much stress I'd put on you guys... I thought you guys would be better off without me..."

"That's not true. Not at all... What made you come back? Are you back for good?"

She looked at me like I was crazy.

"I didn't know if I'd be welcome back. Not after what I said..."

"You didn't mean it. I know you didn't."

I put my arms around her.

"Please come home..."

"What if everyone else isn't as nice about this as you are?"

I pulled back. She had a point, there was no denying that.

"You'll never know if you don't go back and find out..."

"I'll just stay for Christmas... Then I'll go back to Florida..."

"Let's just see what happens first. Alright?"

"I'm scared to face them... You were the only one I wasn't scared to see..."

"Why is that?"

She was quiet for a minute, and then looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"Because you're my big brother..."

I smiled. I had always looked at her as a little sister, but I always thought she only looked at Ponyboy as a brother.

"I really don't know if I can face them..."

"You've got to..."

 **Pony POV**

It had been almost an hour before we heard the truck finally pull up in the driveway. You could tell all the tension in the room was instantly gone and then Darry walked in.

"What did Tim want?"

"Someone was lost and couldn't find their way home."

Soda looked confused. We all did.

"Oh? That's it?"

"Yeah. So I took them home. No big deal."

At that time the screen door opened again, and a girl walked in.

"Who's tha..."

The question never completely got out of Sodapop's mouth before we were all standing there with our mouths wide open.

No one moved. No one did anything. We were all too shocked to do anything. Finally, I stepped closer. I was almost convinced that my eyes were playing tricks on me.

"G...Georgie?"

"Hey, Ponyboy..."

For a minute I didn't move.

"Where've you been?"

"Aunt Carol's..."

"Ever since you left?"

She nodded. After another few minutes of nobody saying anything, she teared up and walked out the house. Darry groaned and went after her. Soda turned to me.

"I didn't know what to say..."

"I'm pissed and relieved. I don't know which one to show..."

Steve put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"If we push her away now, we might never get her back..."

I nodded and walked out the door to see her and Darry at the gate.

They both turned to look at me.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She looked scared. Darry whispered something to her and put his hand on her back to walk her to the porch. He gave me a pointed look before going into the house. She didn't move. She just sat there...

 **Georgie POV**

I didn't know what I was suppose to say to him. I could tell all of them were pissed off. We stood on the porch for what felt like hours. He was burning a hole in the side of my head. I wouldn't look at him.

"Was it true?"

"Was what true?"

"What you wrote?"

I was starting to cry a little.

"No... I needed to say something so no one would come after me. It was the only way to make sure that didn't happen..."

"Why...?"

"I heard what you guys said that night..."

He looked guilty. I couldn't stand that... It wasn't his fault.

"I came home early... I was selfish, I didn't even realize how much of your lives revolved around me..."

He shook his head.

"You did know that. You always tried to hide stuff from us for that reason. You weren't selfish, just stubborn."

I just stood there.

"But, I'll tell you one thing..."

His voice was getting angry. I winced.

"Running off like _that_ was selfish. And so was leaving that note. Don't you ever do that to us again, Georgie Dallas Smith. Ever."

I nodded.

"Are you staying?"

"For Christmas..."

He looked at me like he was scared.

"Why aren't you staying...?"

I looked at him the same way I looked at Darry earlier.

"I didn't think I'd be welcome back."

He rolled his eyes.

"Just because we're pissed at you doesn't mean we don't want you here. How many times do we have to go over this?"

He ran over to me and gave me the biggest hug he'd ever given me.

"That was one of the scariest times of my life. I didn't know where you were for two months... Please don't ever do that to me again."

"Yeah, don't ever do that to us again."

We both turned to look at the screen door.

"How much did you guys hear?"

"All of it..."

Steve and Two-bit came over and hugged me. All that was left, was Sodapop. He looked at me.

"Guys, can we have a minute?"

Everyone nodded and walked back in the house.

 **Soda POV**

I didn't say anything for a minute. I couldn't think of anything to say until I got a good look at her.

"Why're you dressed like that?"

She looked down at herself and automatically grabbed her ponytail off of her wrist and put her hair in a bun.

"I was trying to be someone I'm not."

"What for?"

"Cause I don't know who I am anymore..."

I walked up to her.

"Is that what this whole thing was about?"

"No, I heard you guys..."

"No, I knew that. I meant is that why you were sad before?"

She looked like she was thinking about it.

"I don't know..."

She turned away from me and put her hands on the railing. I stood next to her.

"Aunt Carol told me something that scared me..."

"What was that?"

"That I was turning into my mom and Dallas..."

"Are you...?"

"I've lost everything. I don't know who I'm suppose to be..."

I turned her to face me.

"You're suppose to be Georgie. Not Dallas, not your mom."

"But who is she?"

"We can find her. We can find Georgie, but you've got to let me help."

"Do you know who she is...?"

"You know who you are... You know it..."

"Maybe I'm not the same person, anymore..."

I touched her face.

"Sometimes, people change, but changing doesn't mean completely losing yourself. You're still you. You're not your mom, you're not Dallas, and if you ever start to think that come to one of us and we'll help you see that you could never be like them. You care too much about everything to ever be like them. Do you hear me?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry..."

"There's plenty of time for that. I know you're uncomfortable in those clothes."

She smiled.

"See? You're still you. Go change and come back out here. I need to see _you_. You're stuff is where it's always been."

She nodded and went to change. When she came back out, I could tell she had lost a lot of weight.

"Getting a little thin, aren't we?"

She looked guilty. I walked up to her.

"Hey, what is it?"

"No more secrets..."

The first thing she did was lift up her sleeves.

"Oh, Georgie..."

She had cuts going all the way up to her elbows. She rolled her sleeves back down.

"I'm sick..."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of bulimia?"

I nodded. A girl I knew in middle school had it. She got real bad.

"I've had that since I was sixteen..."

My eyes got wide.

"I can't stop... I've tried to, but holding down any food hurts too much..."

I wrapped my arms around her. She really had gotten thin.

"We're gonna fix this. We're gonna get you better. Don't you know I loved you with meat on your bones?"

She sighed.

"I can't keep anything from you anymore. It only makes things worse..."

"I'd say that's a good first step to recovery..."

She looked up at me. I leaned down and kissed her. She was shocked for a minute.

"I didn't think you'd want me back..."

"You forgave me when I made a mistake. It's my turn to forgive you."

"I didn't forgive you this fast..."

"I told you that you were the only one for me... But, you should know that I did some things when I was mad..."

She shook was her head.

"Don't. I went on some dates. It's fine. I don't wanna know details. I just wanna know that you're mine, again."

I kissed her again. Later that night, we sat down with Darry and I told him what was going on.

 **Darry POV**

After showing me her arms and telling me about her bulimia, I decided we needed to go to the hospital right then. Georgie tried to get me to wait until after Christmas, but I wasn't taking any chances. We were all in her room with her when Dr. Matthews came and asked me to step into the hall.

"She's a handful... I don't know how you do it."

I smiled a sad smile.

"It's honestly pretty normal considering, though. Being molested, bullied, her brother's death. I don't have much choice, Darrel."

He sighed. I started to panic.

"She needs to go to rehab."

"Rehab?"

"Yes. They've got new programs for eating disorders and self harm. They're fairly new on the scene. Can you afford it?"

Ponyboy spoke from behind me and startled me.

"Her Aunt Carol can. And I guarantee she'll pay for it. I'll give you her number."

He gave the number and Dr. Matthews said she'd call her Aunt in the morning because it was around 2:00 in the morning right now. I looked at Ponyboy. He was pale.

"We're gonna lose her for good if we don't do something about it now... Right?"

He was trying to figure out if he did the right thing. I pulled him into a hug.

"Right. This is the right thing to do..."

We didn't tell her that night. Dr. Matthews told me her Aunt agreed to it, and we told Georgie and Sodapop the next morning. She was being sent that afternoon. She cried a lot. We all did. She hadn't even been back 24 hours.

After she had been sent, we all went back to the house. We were going to be able to go see her twice a week since she was still in Tulsa. A little while after we got home the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Darrel? This is Carol..."

Oh, no. She's about to yell at me.

"Hello, Mrs. Folley."

"I can't believe I never noticed..."

"... What...?"

"She lived here for two months and I didn't notice she was cutting herself or that she had an eating disorder. I'm such a bad person..."

"No, you're not. I knew about the cutting, but I never would've thought she had an eating disorder..."

We talked for a few minutes and then hung up. About that time, Soda walked in. His eyes were red.

"Darry?"

I grabbed him and he started bawling.

"She begged me not make her go, Darry. She didn't want to go... Oh gosh, I hope this was the right thing to do..."

"Me, too, little buddy... Me, too..."

 **Author's note: Some of this is based on real events for me. So was Fate. It's part personal experience with a fictional twist for more drama. Although some of it is complete fiction. I hope you guys like it, it's really close to my heart. Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Rehab

 **Georgie POV**

When Darry and Dr. Matthews told me I'd be sent somewhere, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Like I was spiraling out of control. I had just got back _home_ to be pulled from it again. Sodapop just held me while we both cried. We were gonna be ripped apart again.

Getting there and registered is a blur. I don't even remember what the lobby looked like. We couldn't go in there once those doors closed.

I had been here for two days, and I felt like a prisoner. There were times of the day where you could leave your room with a nurse, but I never did. I never left my room. On the day I was to meet my counselor, I slowly walked into his office. I wasn't suppose to meet him until I had been here a week and adjusted, but the nurses had been concerned because I wasn't talking or doing anything. The only thing I was glad about was that Aunt Carol made sure I had a single room. I would've hated having a roommate.

"Hello, Georgie. I'm Andrew Williams, but you can call me Andrew."

He held out his hand. I shook it, nodded, and sat down in the chair, and it was really uncomfortable.

"So, I understand that you're here for self-harm, bulimia, and you've had three suicide attempts, correct?"

I nodded. I didn't know there was a technical term for cutting, but there was.

"Now, what started first and why?"

I shot my eyes up to meet his. He was young, handsome. About Darry's age. He had a certain softness to his face, not like the other counsellors. I had seen them walking around with faces like stone.

"Aren't you suppose to already know all of that?"

"I only find out the reasons you're here. I like to hear the turn of events from the patient themselves."

I crossed my arms and pouted.

"I don't like that word..."

"What word?"

"Patient. It makes me sound like I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy. Unless of course there weren't any specific reasons for your actions. If that's the case, I'll put you in an asylum right now."

I smirked. He was making a joke.

"Okay. Where should I start?"

"At the beginning if you can."

"Okay... Well, before I do, you should know that I never did any of the things that I'm in here for before I was fifteen."

"Is that the age that it all started."

I nodded my head rigorously.

"No no no. It started when I was ten..."

"Ten?"

"Yeah. My dad started molesting me."

He took a deep breath.

"My goodness. He had never done it before then?"

"No..."

I went on to tell him how he'd been the perfect dad, started acting funny, and then started the act itself.

"It wasn't until I was around twelve or thirteen, though, that he fully started raping me... I don't know what I did to make him start it in the first place."

"You think it's something you did to cause this?"

"It had to be..."

He sighed.

"Well, we've got a breakthrough already."

"We have?"

"Have you ever told anyone you thought _you_ did something to make him molest you that first time?"

I wracked my brain for the answer.

"No... I don't think I have..."

"Listen, that's one thing we need to work on. You did _nothing_ to make your dad do that to you."

"But, I must have... He was the best dad ever... Until..."

I started breathing hard.

"Stop... Calm down. If you have a panic attack, then we can't talk about it, okay? I'm going to show you something to calm you down."

He helped me get into a ball on the floor. I was in fetal position. He had his hand on my back.

"When you feel panicked, get into this position, take deeps breaths, and make the world around you disappear until you calm down..."

After a few minutes, I felt fine. I sat up and looked at him. He smiled.

"Better?"

"Better. How did you know that would work?"

He helped me up and we went back to our chairs.

"I'm trained in this kind of stuff. I'll be honest, it may not always work, but it probably will most of the time and you won't need a sedative. But you should always have them in case it doesn't work. Now, back to your dad..."

I sighed.

"Do we have to...?"

"Do you want to leave this place?"

I nodded.

"Then, yeah. We have to. We don't always understand why people do what they do. We'll probably never understand what snapped in your dad, but it's nothing you did. You were only ten years old. You were a child. You did absolutely nothing to make him start it. He made that decision on his own."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"It could be a number of things. Your mom didn't satisfy him, you were growing up and he didn't really think of you as daughter but an object, his own problems with his brain. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with you. Nothing you could've done differently would've changed his mind."

I nodded. I had never thought of it that way. I always assumed it was something I did... For a while, neither of us said anything.

"When I was thirteen, my mom moved us to New York..."

I went on to tell him all about my life in New York. Meeting Dally, hating each other, me going to his house that night, him taking me in... Becoming a _real_ brother and sister... And him beating the shit out of my dad even though he didn't know what he had done.

"Sounds like he really cared about you..."

"I _thought_ so..."

He looked confused, but didn't say anything. He let me continue. I told him about my dad moving us, ending up in Georgia, talking to Dally every week, Dally dying, and my first suicide attempt at fifteen because of it. Somewhere in there I told him about my mom, too.

"So, your mom made you mad when she broke down because of Dally's death..."

"Yeah... It pissed me off because I cared about him more than she did..."

"I understand. You feel she should have been there for you instead of the other way around. Understandable. That's enough for today, although I think we've made some progress. How's your diet going?"

"They give me a bunch of little meals a day instead of three big ones... I've been able to hold them down..."

"They're letting your stomach get used to it. Right now, you're on a one month plan. It depends on how this month goes that determines whether you need more care or whether you'll be alright to go home..."

"A whole month...?"

He looked down. He didn't know I hadn't been told, I could tell.

"At the least. But, I think as long as you keep talking to me and eat, it will be no more. But, can I tell you something?"

"Sure..."

"Get out of your room on the days you don't come here. Mingle, talk to other patients. Talk to the nurses, too. They're here to help you just as much as I am. Maybe you'll even meet someone special..."

I smiled a sad smile.

"I've already got someone special..."

He smiled.

"Make that a reason to get better. I'll see you in three days. Eat. And try to make yourself keep it down, okay?"

I nodded and walked out the room. I felt a little bit of weight that I'd been carrying around ten years lift off of my shoulders.

It wasn't my fault my dad abused me...

 **Pony POV**

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Steve and Two-bit had been crashing here but there was no joking, no laughing. Sodapop barely said a word.

Today was the first day that me, Darry, and Soda were going to see her. It's been a little over a week because they preferred for the patients to have time to adjust without interruption. From here on out, we could come on Wednesdays for an hour and Saturdays for three hours.

It was Wednesday and we were getting ready to leave the house. Darry had told us the night before that this was the only Wednesday he could miss, so from then on it would just be us that went. He could go on Saturdays, though.

The place, called Lion House, was in Soc territory. When we pulled into the parking lot, Darry turned to Soda.

"Sodapop, are you gonna be this way when you see her?"

He looked guilty.

"I haven't meant to be this way... Her begging me to help her when there was nothing I could do has just haunted me."

I put my arm around his shoulders and Darry's features softened. We got out of the truck and walked into the lobby.

"We're here to see Georgie Smith?"

She shifted through some papers.

"Are you family?"

We all looked at each other.

"She lives with us."

The woman gave us a look and went through her records again.

"Curtis?"

We nodded. She smiled and pressed a button and the doors opened.

"She'll be in the backyard. Just take the hallway straight down."

Walking down that hallway felt strange. You could tell there were no patients on this floor. We passed the cafeteria and what looked like rooms for different activities. One of the rooms looked like a little library. I smiled to myself. I knew she was probably liking that.

When we walked out the door, we saw a huge backyard. It had what looked like a prison fence around it, but it sure was nice. There were a lot of trees, benches, flowers, and a gazebo. There were a lot of people back there, too.

We were scanning the different areas, until Soda pointed. Sitting under a tree with a book in her lap and talking to some man, was Georgie. She was smiling and looked a little better. As we started walking closer, she looked over and stood up as fast as she could. Soda sprinted towards her. Darry and I gave them their moment.

"Sodapop!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up off the ground spinning her in a tight embrace. I looked over at Darry and he was smiling. I was, too. The man she'd been talking to chuckled and walked around them to us.

"Hi. I'm Andrew Williams, Georgie's counselor."

Darry and I shook his hand.

"Man, she's been looking forward to seeing you guys. I'm surprised you didn't bring the other two with you."

"They wanted the first time to be just us. I'm sure they'll come soon."

He smiled.

"I've already put their names on the list."

I spoke up next.

"How's she doing?"

I had barely finished the question when I saw Georgie run up to me and wrap her arms around my stomach. I hugged her back tighter than I ever had before.

"I...need...to breath, Ponyboy."

I let go and she laughed at me.

"I'm doing pretty good. Right, Andrew?"

"Yeah, she's doing alright."

She glared. Darry laughed. We all talked for a few minutes. Somehow, I managed to get her alone. She was wearing a short sleeved shirt.

"You're starting to scar over."

I grabbed her wrist and examined her arms.

"Yeah. They'll be there as a reminder."

I thought she meant that sad but then I looked at her face.

"A reminder that just because I'm gonna get sad sometimes, doesn't mean I should cut. They'll be there to remind me that I was so low, I didn't care anymore. They'll always remind me I should."

She grabbed my arm and lifted up my sleeve. I started to panic, but didn't move. She touched the fresh cuts on my arms and I winced. I didn't cut as much as she had, but enough that I had about five on each arm that would scar.

"This is the end of this, Ponyboy. You're gonna end up here, too if you don't watch out."

"How did you...?"

She half smiled.

"We're twins, remember? I know how much you feel."

I started to tear up, but she didn't.

"Hey, it's okay."

She wrapped her arms around me.

"I thought I'd have to comfort you, not the other way around. You're the one stuck in this place."

"And you're the one facing the world right now..."

She pulled away and looked at me with a serious, but soft expression.

"This place is safe. I'll be scared to death when I leave. That's when I'll need you. Right now, you need me. Talk to me..."

I sat there for a minute not moving.

"I've been thinking a lot about mom and dad.. And Johnny and Dallas... And you since I've almost lost you several times whether it's been by death or not. It doesn't seem fair... I don't understand..."

She gave me a sad look. The first time she'd looked sad since we got here. I felt bad.

"Don't feel bad. We've needed to do this..."

She grabbed my hand. We really could read each other's minds.

"Sometimes, we're not suppose to understand things. Bad things happen to us and we don't know why, and I don't think we're suppose to... It's all part of our fate. For some reason, our fate up to now has been terrible, but that doesn't mean it always will be. And we can change our fate..."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not suppose to be up to us when we die. If someone kills themselve's, it wasn't suppose to happen. It was a rash decision... Dallas wasn't suppose to die, Johnny and your parents, they were..."

That hurt. Bad. But, it did make sense.

"It's not fair... It's just not fair..."

I started bawling. She just held me until I was able to control myself and smile a watery smile at her. She had one, too.

"When I get out of here, maybe you can take me to see your parents and Johnny..."

"Maybe I can..."

 **Soda POV**

Pony and Georgie started talking. I decided to give them their space. Then they were crying. I almost walked over there, but Darry stopped me.

"Let them go. It's okay."

A little while later, they joined us. After a few minutes, a bell rung and Georgie groaned.

"The hour's up I've gotta go to my room for lunch."

"You don't eat in the cafeteria?"

"No. I have to eat in my room with a nurse. Especially since my meals are getting bigger. They have to make sure I hold it down."

Darry, Ponyboy, and Andrew walked away giving us some privacy. I put my hands on her face and kissed her.

"I've missed you so much..."

"I've missed you, too. But, I really gotta go. I'll get in trouble."

We hugged and she walked into the building. I saw her hug Darry and Ponyboy before going inside. Darry motioned for me.

"Andrew wants to talk to us in his office."

"Okay..."

We walked to an elevator that took us to the fifth floor, the top floor. We happen to see Georgie walking into her room with a nurse behind her. She smiled and waved, but it broke my heart when another nurse locked the door behind them. I didn't understand how she didn't feel like a prisoner in this place.

We walked into the office and Darry sat in the only chair.

"Sorry I don't have more chairs. I usually only have one patient at a time."

I waved a dismissive hand.

"That's okay."

He looked at me with a sad smile.

"The top floor is for our most concerning patients, Sodapop. It's only for their protection."

He must've been watching me when she was locked in her room. I nodded.

"I wanted to tell you of her progress. There's been a lot. I can tell you boys one thing, and I don't mean to be so frank, but she'd have been dead a long time ago had it not been for you three and the others in your circle."

"Really...?"

Ponyboy was upset and scared. Sometimes it was like he was fourteen again. Not nineteen. I put an arm around him. Andrew sighed.

"I'm glad you boys came into her life. So far, we've only gotten to her first suicide attempt. I tend to do things a little differently than most counsellors here. The other two times I've seen her, I've made her talk about the positives in her life, and it all revolves around your group. Especially you three."

We smiled.

"She's special. I don't get many patients like her. She's got a lot of love. I think she may be ready to leave in about three weeks, but I can't guarantee that."

"So, she's been okay?"

"The first two days were rough with her, but I urged her to get out of her room. They're not kept prisoners. When she discovered the library, it definitely brightened her up. She's also been doing some school work here."

"She has?"

We were all surprised. No one had told us that.

"Her Aunt arranged it. Some teachers from the school come here. She won't be able to go back to school right away, but she won't be behind when she goes back in the fall. They'll go to your house when she gets home. It will be like she never missed a semester. She's very smart."

We all nodded.

"Please come and see her as often as you can on visiting days."

Darry spoke up.

"One of us will always be here if not all of us."

We headed back out to the truck. I nudged Ponyboy.

"Hey. You okay?"

He lifted his sleeves. I just stared.

"No more secrets... I won't do it again. I'll talk to someone instead..."

I had tears in my eyes as I hugged my little brother. We'd get through this. All of us would. As a family.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I didn't proof read this chapter, so I'm sorry if there's a lot of mistakes. Please review!**

Chapter Thirteen: Relief

 **Georgie POV**

The next day I had another meeting with Andrew.

"Hi, Georgie."

"Hey."

I sat down in the chair.

"Your teachers said you're doing well. You're ahead."

"Good."

"So, today I think we should talk about something else that triggered some of this that hit you here."

I nodded.

"Well, after my parents went to prison, I moved in with the boys for good. But, my Aunt Carol didn't want me to..."

I told him about the fight with Aunt Carol, Sandy getting mad, and the bullying."

"So, that's when you first started cutting."

"Yeah... The day I tried to kill myself, some girls had cornered me in the bathroom making fun of me. When the last girl told me I should disappear, I thought she was right."

"You cared what she thought?"

"No... I thought... I figured everybody felt that way... Including the boys... And I did care what the boys thought."

I told him about going home, but Pony and Two-bit stopping me because of Cherry.

"I can't remember everything, but I remember their faces. And Pony holding me down while Two-bit grabbed the blade. Soda and Steve were there soon after. Soda just held me while I was saying I wanted to die. That was the last time I talked in three days..."

I told him about finally speaking up, and Sodapop telling Sandy why I was staying there. About how the girls with her overheard and then she was bullied.

"So, when everyone found out the truth, they turned to her..."

"Yeah..."

I told him next about Soda ignoring me because he thought I liked Ponyboy and knocking him out. About spending the summer with Aunt Carol and coming home to find out Sandy had committed suicide and left me and Soda a note...

"That must have been hard, but that wasn't your fault."

I nodded. I had made my peace with that long ago.

I told him about starting to date Soda and the strain the secrets I had were on the relationship. Then about the rumble and the night I broke down and told them I was Dally's sister.

"You never told them until then? I figured you told them once you knew they were all friends..."

"Ponyboy was grieving about him and Johnny so bad, I couldn't take that away from them..."

"But, you exploded..."

"Yeah..."

I told him about them walking on eggshells after that and finally feeling empty... Just like Dally...

"I thought I was just like him... I was thinking how he didn't care when he got himself killed, so I'd do the same thing and not care... And I ran out in front of a car..."

He didn't say anything for a minute.

"That's how you tried to kill yourself the last time?"

"Yeah... I just remember regretting it when I woke up... I had hurt the gang badly..."

"I'm sure that was tough on them... Have you ever talked to them about it?"

"What?"

"Found out what it did to them?"

"No... I don't think I have. I found out later Ponyboy broke his hand punching a wall, but that's as much as I know..."

"I see..."

I told him about Sodapop cheating on me. About taking him back and Ponyboy _thinking_ he liked me. About getting sad again, and hearing the boys talk about me and leaving. Cutting, and coming back.

"Darry made me go to the hospital that night, and here I am..."

"One thing I will say, you've definitely been through a lot..."

I nodded.

"So, the question is where do we go from here? Where's your head at?"

I thought about it for a minute and started crying. It's the first time I've really cried since I've been here. I looked up at Andrew.

"I wanna go home... That's where I belong, that's where I'm happy..."

He smiled a sad smile.

"You've realized what makes you happy. If it were just that, I could send you home, but that's not the case..."

I started crying more.

"But... If you show improvement with the bulimia, I'll see what I can do about sending you home a week early..."

 **Pony POV**

It was Saturday. Darry couldn't go to the Lion House because he had to oversee a job where a storm had ruined a roof, but the rest of the gang was going.

I could sense that Steve and Two-bit were nervous. I didn't blame them, I was a little bit myself.

The woman recognized me and Soda and pushed the button without us saying anything. We walked through. We almost walked passed the library, but I stopped the gang cause I spotted her in there. It looked like she was doing homework.

"Hey."

She looked up.

"Steve! Two-bit!"

She ran and gave them each a hug.

"Hey, Miss Trouble, what's shaking?"

"Gosh, I missed you, Two-bit. Since it's the long day, you guys can go up to my room. If rather do that than go anywhere else."

We all piled into the elevator and she led us to her room. A nurse nodded at us from a desk. Two-bit flipped an invisible hat and she rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face. When we walked in and shut the door, Georgie plopped on her bed.

We all talked for a long time. It was clear that Georgie wasn't getting much sleep. After two hours, Sodapop climbed in the bed with her and fell asleep. A nurse came in quietly.

"She doesn't sleep well, that's got to be about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. You her boyfriend?"

Soda blushed and nodded.

"She has awful nightmares. I'm guessing Soda is your name. She calls for you, bless her."

Around that time, Andrew walked in making sure to be quiet. He greeted Steve and Two-bit and we all chatted quietly for a few minutes.

We eventually had to leave, but she was still asleep. Andrew spoke up.

"I suggest you leave her be. I'll be here all day. I'll have a nurse let me know when she wakes up."

It was hard, but we all left. Sodapop had been sleeping with me and Two-bit and Steve had been sleeping in Soda's room. None of us were getting much sleep either. We had all come in Two-bit's car.

"I never would've said she needed to realize the world didn't revolve around her if I'd have known all this would happen..."

I hadn't really thought about Steve. He'd been taking it hard. Soda threw an arm around him.

"This isn't your fault. It's just the way her brain works. She's a lot like Ponyboy. If we have a problem with her we just need to come out and say it. Then, we can fix it..."

 **Darry POV**

The job was done, and somehow I'd beaten the boys home. I was tired and about to make something for dinner when I heard the door open.

"Food's here!"

I sighed with relief. I wouldn't have to cook. We all gathered in the living room eating our favorite meals from The Dingo. For the first time in months, the gang was laughing and joking honestly. There was only one person missing, and hopefully she'd be back, soon.

"Darry, you okay? You're quiet."

"I'm okay, Pony."

"How's Jody?"

I smiled. I had been seeing Jody for a while, now. Georgie hadn't met her yet, but the boys had. We were getting pretty serious. As if on cue, she came through the door.

"Where's my food?"

She winked at me.

"Sorry, I didn't cook."

She laughed. Ponyboy went and hugged her. I was happy I found someone who respected that I was taking care of my brothers. I had dated before, but no one ever understood. Not like Jody. She came and sat in my lap.

"How is she?"

"The boys said she's doing good."

"I can't wait to meet her. She's needs a girl friend among all of you hoodlums."

Soda smirked.

"I'm not a hoodlum! I've only been in the cooler three times!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Don't do cartwheels in the street!"

They both laughed. Later, we went out on the porch before she left.

"Do you think she'll like me?"

"She'll adore you..."

"Soda adores her. They all do."

"Yeah. They do... Hey, Jody?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna keep it between us until you get to know Georgie, but..."

I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring I had bought right before Georgie came home.

"Will you marry me?"

She had tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Darry. I'll marry you."

We kissed.

"I want Georgie to look at me like a sister."

"I do, too. You're right, she needs a girl she can talk to about... You know... Girl things..."

"Like Sodapop?"

We both smiled.

"I gotta go. I've gotta teach in the morning."

She was a 2nd grade teacher. We kissed again and she was gone.

 **Two-bit POV**

A week had passed since me and Steve had been to see Georgie. All of the brothers had something they had to do that day, so me and Steve offered to go visit Georgie. We were stopped by Andrew.

"You guys the only ones who could make it today?"

"Yes, sir!"

Steve rolled his eyes at me.

"That'll make the surprise even better."

"What surprise?"

He smiled.

"She's being released today. Normally, I wouldn't let her go without family, but it's been made pretty clear that you two _are_ family."

"She gets to go home?!"

Steve was a little more excited than I thought he'd be. Normally, I would be the one to react like that.

"Yeahp. And I haven't told her yet. Let's go."

When we told her, she literally started crying she was so happy. We started helping her get her things together when Andrew came back and handed me a piece of paper.

"Give this to Darry or Sodapop for me. It's just her appointments for her to check up with me. There's only three."

Georgie hugged him. Walking through that lobby with her took a big weight off of our soldiers. The sister of the group was coming home.

 **Pony POV**

I was in my room doing a project. I heard the front door shut and voices. I thought it was strange that they were back already. They only been gone about an hour.

I was focussing on my project when my door opened. I didn't look up.

"Don't bother me, I wanna get this done so I don't have to do it tomorrow."

"I thought you'd be happy to see me."

I looked up to see Georgie leaning against the door frame with a smile on her face. I ran up and hugged her.

"What're you doing here?!"

"She got out early, good behavior."

I rolled my eyes. She helped me finish my project so we could spend time together. After an hour or so, I could tell she was anxious.

"Come on. Let's go down to the DX. I'm sure you wanna see your man."

We drove down to the DX.

 **Soda POV**

I was bummed I had to work that day. I wanted to go see Georgie, but I needed to stay on Mr. Rivers good side. I had passed last semester, but barely. I was doing great at the moment, and it was my last semester before I had my degree. I was under a car when a voice spoke up.

"I need my car filled, please."

"John's out front. He's the one doing that right now, I'm kind of busy."

"No, I need you to do it."

I pushed myself from under the car.

"Look lady, I don't... Georgie!"

I tried to get up and hug her, but I tripped over my own two feet. She laughed at me, I glared.

"A little eager?"

I got up and hugged and kissed her.

"I got out early because I was doing so well. I just had to see you!"

"I'm not complaining. You can really make your voice go high."

She had disguised her voice so I wouldn't know it was her.

"Take the rest of the day off."

I turned around to see Mr. Rivers smiling.

"Hello Georgie. I'm glad to see you."

"You, too."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Go on. You've been working to death. Take today and tomorrow to relax."

I had told him about the situation so I could have Wednesday's off.

"Thank you, sir."

 **Georgie POV**

I was glad to be home. Everyone was talking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company. The screen door opened, and I turned ready to greet Darry.

"Hey guys, Darry's gonna be late so I thought I'd come by and cook din..."

I stared wide eyed at the woman. She seemed to do the same to me and dropped the groceries she had in her hand. I quickly got up and helped her pick them up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't... I..."

"It's okay."

Sodapop came up beside me.

"Wow. You're just as beautiful as everyone described. Come here."

The woman wrapped her arms around me. I returned the hug, though I was confused.

"I'm sorry! I'm Jody. Jody Oliver."

"This is Darry's girlfriend."

"Oh. Well, pleased to meet you."

After an awkward silence, I excused myself to the porch. I heard the door open behind me to see Jody.

"I'm so sorry... I know this is probably... I'm..."

I didn't mean to make her feel bad. She had no reason to.

"No, it's okay. Really."

"I wouldn't have come if I'd have known... This wasn't the meeting I was expecting. Darry was gonna tell you first, honest."

"I know. It's okay. How about I help you with dinner. I'm not that great of a cook, but you can help me through it."

She smiled.

"What're you and Sodapop gonna do when you get married?"

I chuckled.

"I guess eat spaghetti every night. It's his favorite and the only thing I don't burn."

We were making baked chicken, baked potatoes, and mixed vegetables. She was really nice, and as far as I could tell, perfect for Darry. He needed someone gentle since he could be hard. I heard him come in and ran into the living room. He picked me up and spun me around. I looked back to see Jody with tears in her eyes.

Later that night after Jody had left, I got him alone.

"I saw the ring on her finger."

He paled. I laughed.

"It's okay. I like her a lot. She's nice."

"I wasn't gonna tell you until you got to know her..."

"I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to get to know her."

For the first time, things felt right.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Forgive

 **Georgie POV**

The one thing I hated was not going back to school. Teachers came and gave me assignments, but it wasn't the same. I was glad I would be going back in the fall.

I was lying in my bed thinking. I had seen Andrew earlier that day for the last time.

 ***flashback***

"Hi, Georgie."

"Andrew."

We hugged. It was bittersweet. Walking into his office the three times I had since I had left were weird. I was no longer a patient, I was a guest, so it was weird that I didn't have to be followed around or anything. I stayed here for three weeks, and that may not seem like a long time, but it felt like it.

"There's something specific I wanna talk about since this is our last appointment."

"Okay."

"I think we should talk about Dally..."

My eyes shot up to his.

"We've talked about Dally..."

"You've given me the details of what happened, but I think we're missing something."

"Like what?"

He shifted through his notes until he got to what he was looking for.

"How did you feel when Dally first died?"

"Well, I didn't know much about it... All I knew was that he had died because of a friend... That first attempted suicide wasn't only because of Dally..."

"It was because of your mom..."

"And my dad... I didn't have any hope. No reason to live... It wasn't until I moved to Tulsa and got the full story from Ponyboy that I'd realized what exactly happened..."

"You found out the whole story..."

I nodded.

"I guess... I guess I felt like he was willing to do anything to help Johnny and not me..."

I started to cry.

"Johnny was here in Tulsa. It was easier to watch after him, but he was saving up for you..."

I shook my head.

"But he didn't think about me... The fact I needed him... The only difference between him dead or alive is the fact that he's dead. If he'd brought me here, I'd have still been a part of the gang, Ponyboy would be my best friend, and I would've fallen in love with Sodapop. The only thing that would've been different is..."

"Is what...?"

"Darry..."

"What about Darry?"

"I would've never looked at Darry as my older brother..."

"Can you imagine that? What a life without your big brother _Darry_ would be?"

"No... I can't. Though, I would've never been able to imagine a life without Dallas before he died..."

"You never fully explained why you tried to kill yourself the day you got hit by the car. Just that you felt like Dally. Care to elaborate?"

I sat there for a minute not saying anything.

"When I ran in front of that car... The only thing I had on my mind was making Dally mad... I wanted to get even with him. Make him regret getting killing himself. It wasn't suppose to happen. He was suppose to be there for me..."

I started sobbing. He walked into the hall and got Ponyboy. He had come with me to this appointment. He came in and practically pulled me out of the chair and just held me on the floor.

"Is she okay?"

He told him what I had said.

"Look at me..."

I shook my head.

"Come on, look at me."

I finally looked up.

"Dally made a mistake. He did, and he couldn't take it back. There's nothing you can do to change it. You were right, he wasn't suppose to die, but he made that choice."

He sighed.

"You don't think it was hard to forgive you after you cut yourself? And especially after you ran out in front of that car..."

I stiffened.

"It was hard. We all wanted to be mad at you, but we couldn't be for your sake. Those were the worst two weeks of my life. With my parents and Johnny and Dally, we knew what was coming. We had no idea if you would make it or not. It took me a long time to forgive you for putting me through that, but I did..."

I was still sobbing, but listening intently.

"It was hard to forgive you when you left, too. And I really didn't forgive you for that until that first day we visited you here..."

I calmed down a little bit. He tightened his grip around me.

"You've got to forgive Dally... If you don't, this will eat you alive for the rest of your life and you'll never be happy... You have to forgive him..."

"I agree with Ponyboy, Georgie. I think you've even forgiven your mom and dad for what they've done. It was easier because you didn't care for them as much, but you really cared about Dallas."

"And he cared about you. We never knew why he was saving up money or making secret phone calls, but it was for you. All for you. He wanted you the same way Darry wanted us. I never thought I'd compare Dally to Darry..."

I had to laugh a little at that.

"I think this was a good last appointment. Please, if you ever start to feel down again, give me a call. I would be happy to help you the best I can..."

I have him a hug and me and Ponyboy walked out of his office. When we walked out, I walked over to my old room and looked in the window.

"What're you doing?"

"Making me peace with this place..."

We got in the elevator and walked through the lobby of The Lion House for the last time.

 ***end flashback***

"Hey."

"Hey, Pony."

"Tired?"

I shrugged. He left and closed the door. I thought that was strange. He would usually climb in the bed with me. I never went to sleep, but I laid there for a couple of hours.

I heard my door creak open and felt someone climb into bed with me. I stayed staring at the ceiling. They put a protective arm around me and I curled into their side and sobbed with them just holding me.

"I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"I... For... It hurts, Sodapop... It hurts..."

"Dallas would want you to be happy. That's all he ever wanted. If he'd had realized what this would do to you, I think he never would've done it..."

I nodded. Ponyboy must've told him what happened.

"Was it hard?"

"Was what hard?"

"To forgive me the two times I tried to kill myself and for for running off making you think I didn't care?"

He nodded with a sad smile on his face.

"I think you getting hit by the car was the hardest thing to forgive you for... That was the one time I really didn't know if you were gonna make it..."

We laid there for a long time when I finally looked up at him.

"I need to be happy... I have to forgive Dally."

He gave me a smile.

"Let me know when you do... But take as long as you need."

 **Dally POV**

It had been a week since she had finally said her secret... She hadn't forgiven me for what I'd done.

"You've got to stop beating yourself up, Dally."

"Yeah. You do."

"Would you two shut up?"

"You're gonna have to. She's got to forgive you for what you did.."

"Just give me a minute..."

 **Georgie POV**

I was sitting out on the porch. I had been home about two weeks and this was the first day I had been home completely alone. I didn't wanna be in the house for some reason.

"Hey, Bug..."

I turned to see Dally. I immediately grabbed a cigarette and lit up. He did the same thing.

"Hey..."

"How've you been?"

"I've been doing better."

For the first time since he started appearing, he touched me by pulling up my one of my sleeves and running his fingers over my scars. He had never touched me since he'd been dead.

"There's a lot of them."

"Yeah, but that's all there's ever gonna be, hopefully..."

He was still tracing his fingers over my scars.

"I wish I could take it back..."

"I know you do..."

"I'm glad you got a second chance..."

"I feel like I've gotten more than just a second chance. Because of the gang..."

"I think that's why I called them that night..."

He sat down on the steps pulling me with him.

"After I robbed the store, I panicked. I thought of you, of the gang. I called them hoping they'd get to me in time to either hide me or stop me from going through with it..."

"But, it was too late..."

He nodded. He looked sad.

"Darry's a good older brother. I'm glad you consider him that. I did, too."

I looked down.

"You were a good brother, too..."

We were quiet for a long time. I had silent tears falling down my face, but they weren't of sadness. They were of relief.

"I forgive you, Dally..."

He looked at me and put his arms around me. I cried, but he didn't. He just held me.

"Soda's coming. I gotta go."

"Wait! Will I ever see you again?"

He smiled and he was gone. I heard Soda pulling up in the driveway. He got out and looked at me when he got closer.

"Hey, you okay?"

He sat next to me with a look of concern. I hadn't cried since my last meeting with Andrew. That's been s few days before. I smiled at him.

"Yeah. I finally am..."

He put an arm around me.

"You forgave him."

He smiled at me.

"Yeah. I did. You tired?"

"Yeah... Let's go lay down."

A few months went by, and I hadn't seen Dally, but I had never been better. Ponyboy was at his last day taking his last two finals of the semester.I had already taken mine.

Soda pulled into the driveway and jumped out, holding what looked like a picture frame. He ran up to me and turned it around.

"Your degree!"

I ran up and hugged him and gave him a _nice_ kiss. When we came up for air I looked at him.

"I... I told you... You weren't dumb."

He kissed me again. Later that night, Steve came over with his degree and they told everybody the truth. I'd never seen Darry look so proud. Jody and I both had tears in our eyes, and Two-bit and Ponyboy had pride written all over their faces.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Wedding

 **Soda POV**

I couldn't believe it. I was a college graduate. Georgie and Pony still had two years left of school, but I was done, and did it with good grades.

That afternoon while at work, Mr. Rivers called me and Steve into his office. He had some news for us.

 **Georgie POV**

I'd been helping Jody a lot since their wedding was next week. But, a question had been burning in my mind.

"Hey, Jody?"

"Yeah?"

She was distracted looking at some tablecloths.

"Are we still gonna live at the house?"

"What?"

She turned to me.

"It's just that... I wasn't sure if..."

I had tears in my eyes. Until I got married, I didn't wanna leave the house. She walked over to me and hugged me.

"Honey, it was your house first. You really think I'm gonna make you leave? I'm becoming part of the family, I'm not tearing it apart."

I felt relieved. I had really grown to love Jody, even though we'd only know each other a few weeks. She was turning into a big sister, which is something I needed.

Later back at the house, Soda and Steve didn't get home when they should have. Even Darry made it home before them, which was strange.

"Hey, Miss Trouble."

"Hey, Two-bit. How're you?"

"Tired. I hate roofing."

I laughed. Darry had finally convinced Two-bit to get a job and gave him one as a roofer. He saw now why Darry used to be tired all the time. About that time, I heard the door open.

"Everybody gather around! We've got big news!"

We all gathered in the living room. Anxious to see what this was about.

"You guys are looking at the owners of four DX's."

"What?!"

I ran up to Soda and Steve.

"You guys told me you were getting degrees to become managers! Steve!"

"I had already given you half the secret, I couldn't give it all away!"

"You guys really own four DX's?"

"Yeahp! And in the works to own two more in Oklahoma City! Two-bit, we wanna talk to you about a job!"

They had decided to give Two-bit the job as a manager. He would travel to the different DX's and look them over, make sure everything was going okay. To say he was ecstatic was an understatement. Darry's reaction was priceless. He had always thought Ponyboy would get somewhere, but I believed he always wondered if Sodapop would.

"I'm proud of you, little buddy!"

Later that night, me and Soda went to our bedroom.

"I'm so proud of you, Sodapop. You have no idea."

"I did it for you. You won't ever have to worry about anything..."

I put my finger on his mouth to stop him.

"I never did worry. I would've been perfectly happy if you'd worked at the DX forever. That never mattered to me. I love you. Nothing's gonna change that.

 **Pony POV**

The wedding had been great. A lot of our friends came, and Sodapop and Steve surprised them with a honeymoon to Niagara Falls.

Later that night at the reception, Georgie came and sat next to me.

"I think I'm gonna elope. Helping Jody with this thing was stressful."

"As long as I can be the witness."

She rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her head, she felt a little warm.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I haven't gotten that much sleep, you know what that does to me."

"Come on, why don't we go on home. Two-bit and Steve are there, anyway to pack their bags."

We shared a look.

"Yeah, let's go before they end up wearing clown clothes."

I told Soda we were leaving, be said that was fine. He had driven them here, so he couldn't leave. Georgie helped for a little while, but was exhausted and went to bed.

About two hours later, the three of us were waiting in the living room for them to get home when I heard someone shuffling down the hall. Georgie came into the living room breathing heavily. Steve jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

Ten minutes after she took her pill, we got her to her bedroom and I laid next to her.

"Sorry... B...bad dream..."

"It's okay, go to sleep."

The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake. I followed Soda out the bedroom door.

"Steve told me she had a panic attack, she okay?"

"Yeah. I think she was sleep deprived and when she finally fell out she had a nightmare."

He nodded, looking very tired himself.

"Why don't you go to bed."

"Can't. I have to take them to the airport."

About an hour later, they were leaving to go to the airport. I had gone to my room to go to sleep and Steve said he was crashing on the couch. I was awoken later by someone shaking me.

"Ponyboy! Pony!"

"What is it, Steve?"

I sat up rubbing my eyes.

"What time is it?"

"It's around 5:00. The phone just rang. Soda was in an accident."

That woke me up.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know, the hospital called."

"What's going on?"

We both looked at the door to see a groggy Georgie standing there. Before I could stop myself I blurted it out.

"Soda was in an accident. He's at the hospital."

Her eyes were wide and she walked away. Coming back in less than a minute dressed and ready to go. Me and Steve followed suit and we all three climbed into Steve's truck. I could tell that she was still groggy from her sedative so I moved her to where she was lying in my lap. I could feel her trembling though from crying.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: ER

 **Pony POV**

When we got to the hospital, they told us that they didn't have any information at the moment. I lost it. I love Soda more than anyone in this world, and I didn't know what was wrong with him.

After about thirty minutes, I realized that Georgie was the one holding me while I cried. She cried silently on the way here, but here she was. No tears. For me.

She wanted to be there for me like I've been for her. I can't believe we ever thought she was really selfish. We all have our selfish moments, but here she is, being brave for me. I looked at her and wiped my tears away. Sometime during all this, Two-bit had showed up. I guess Steve had called him.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. I think she was afraid to speak. Steve walked over to us.

"Hey, Georgie. Let's go have a smoke, alright?"

She looked at me like she wasn't sure she should leave me.

"Don't worry, I got him."

Two-bit put an arm around me and I was crying again.

 **Steve POV**

I knew what she was doing, and she didn't have to. We walked outside and I handed her a cig and she lit up. I could see the trembling she'd been trying to control starting to go away with every drag.

"That was great."

She looked at me confused.

"You know, what you did for Pony. What you're doing for him."

"That's his brother..."

"So, you understand more than anyone that he needs to let it out. At least first, anyway."

She nodded. She was trying to hold back the tears. I put my arms around her and she cried. She cried until she had no more tears to cry. She pulled back and lit another cig, but I kept one arm around her.

"What about you? How're you holding up?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"Well, we don't know what happened, so I'm trying to stay calm until we do."

I could tell by looking at her that her sedative was still in her system. Her pupils were dilated, and she was swaying slightly. Two-bit came outside.

"Georgie, Dr. Matthews wants to see you and Ponyboy."

She looked at me like a scared puppy, but nodded and went back on the hospital. I lit up. I had a feeling it was gonna be a long morning...

 **Georgie POV**

I was so sleepy that I was fighting to stay awake. I felt so heavy, and I was sweating really bad. When I walked back into the waiting room, Ponyboy grabbed my arm and pulled me to where Dr. Matthews was.

"What happened?"

"He fell asleep while driving."

My heart sank, and my eyes felt even heavier than they had before.

"He's gonna be fine. He was lucky. He's got a concussion, and he broke his right arm and some ribs, so he'll be sore... And you... Bruised... Few days... He... Not... She... Take... About... Georgie?!"

Everything was going dark. I could hear people talking. I felt myself falling, but I never hit the ground. Muffled voices were everywhere. I could hear them and kept trying to open my eyes. Then, I felt something in my arm and fell into a deep sleep.

 **Pony POV**

I had been listening to what we were suppose to do when Sodapop got home, when Dr. Matthews stopped. I turned my head because he was staring at Georgie.

"Georgie, are you okay?"

Her eyes were darting everywhere. Then it dawned on me.

"Dr. Matthews, she had to take a sedative about four hours ago."

About that time, I saw her falling and reached out for her.

"Georgie?!"

Luckily, Steve had come back inside and caught her just in time. She started struggling.

"She's fighting the sedative! Someone bring me two milligrams of Ativan!"

A nurse brought a shot and put it in her arm. Almost immediately, she went limp. A nurse brought a gurney.

"Take her to one of our ER sections and let her sleep it off."

The nurse nodded and Steve went with her.

"Ponyboy, are you alright?"

I nodded. I felt bad. I hadn't even thought about the sedative or I would've made her stay home with Two-bit.

"You can see him if you want. He's awake."

He told me the room number he was in. When I got off the elevator, I stopped and sat next up against the wall. The tears started flowing.

"He's alright... Just banged up... Get it together..."

I was giving myself a pep talk before I finally went down to the room and opened the door.

"Pony..."

I stood there for a second, and then ran and hugged him.

"Hey, easy! I'm sore, you know!"

I jumped back, but he was smiling.

"Where's everybody?"

I couldn't tell him the truth. Not right now. He'd want to go and see her, and he didn't need to get up. She wouldn't want that, anyway.

"Georgie's still at home. She had to sleep off the sedative. Two-bit and Steve will be up in a few minutes."

"Oh, okay... I'm sorry... I can't believe I fell asleep. I guess I should've taken one of you with me..."

"Hey, it was an accident. It's fine."

"How long am I here for?"

"Two days..."

"Dammit..."

 **Steve POV**

She looked peaceful, but I knew she wasn't. I knew that she was scared to death. A nurse came in to check on her and she looked at me funny when she touched her.

"I'll be right back."

The next thing I knew, I was being shooed out of the section and they closed the curtain. Dr. Matthews walked passed me and behind the curtain. Two-bit was by me.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. A nurse was checking on her, the next thing I knew they were pushing me out..."

After a few minutes, Dr. Matthews came out.

"We're taking her to Soda's room."

"Why? I thought you wanted her to sleep off the medicine down here."

"Her temperature's sky high. We're giving antibiotics to bring it down."

I looked at him surprised.

"Boys, you know as well as I do that she doesn't do well with stress. I think the stress of what happened to Sodapop caused her body to go into shock, which caused a pretty serious fever that we need to monitor. We'd have to admit her anyways, I thought it'd be better if she was in his room."

I nodded.

 **Pony POV**

I was sitting there talking to Sodapop, when I heard the door open. I was expecting to see Steve or Two-big but saw two nurses pushing in a bed.

"You have a roommate."

I didn't like that. I didn't want someone else in the room with us. And then I saw who it was. At first, I thought they were just bringing her up here to be with him, until I saw her hooked up to an IV.

"What happened to her?!"

Sodapop about jumped out of his bed. I stopped him.

"Easy... You're hurt, too. Remember?"

"She's got a really high fever. That's why she passed out in the waiting room. We got it back down, but it's still pretty high. We have to monitor her every hour. Dr. Matthews will tell you more when he comes up."

They walked out, and Sodapop looked at me.

"I thought you said she was at home?"

"You told him she was home?"

I turned around to see Steve and Two-bit. When did they get here?

"She came here with us..."

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"She passed out before I came up here, but we thought it was exhaustion from her sedative. I didn't want you going down to see her..."

He looked angry, but Steve spoke up.

"Hey, buddy. Don't be mad. He was just trying to help you."

He nodded. I walked over and got a good look at her. She was really pale, I just hadn't noticed. Then, a thought occurred to me.

"She was warm earlier... She told me she was fine. That it was just lack of sleep..."

We stayed with him. It was already 8:00 in the morning, anyways. Everyone had fallen asleep. Around 11:00, I heard a groan and got up to go see Georgie.

She looked around and finally landed her eyes on me. She blinked a couple of times, confused. She tried to sit up but I pushed her back down and sat on the edge of the bed and whispered to her.

"Hey, it's okay. You're sick, but you're gonna be fine..."

I told her everything about Sodapop and her passing out.

"I thought it was a dream..."

"You probably did. Your sedative was still in your system."

She looked over at Soda.

"I'm glad he's okay."

"Why didn't you tell me how sick you were."

"I didn't think I was. I thought I was just tired because of all the wedding stuff. I didn't know, honest. I would've told you when we got home if I'd thought I was really sick..."

A nurse came in and checked her out. Her fever was still high. Soda woke up and tried to get out of bed. Georgie stopped him.

I left them alone to talk. Two-bit had gone to check on the DX while Steve was sitting with me in the cafeteria. He spoke up after being silent a while.

"Something's not right..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know... I just feel like something's not right... She was fine yesterday. And Soda can go a while without sleeping... Something's fishy..."

I had to say, he may be on to something. We found out Soda had a fever, too and there was no reason that he should. Then, I noticed Steve looked pale and was sweating.

"Are you okay?"

He shook his head.

"I ain't feeling so hot. Haven't since yesterday before the wedding."

I made him get checked out, and he had a fever, too. A high one. They admitted him and when Two-bit came back, Dr. Matthews checked him, and he had one, too. He had checked me, but I checked out fine. He asked me to come to his office.

"Have they all been somewhere? An event or something?"

"Darry got married yesterday. We were all at the wedding. I noticed at the wedding, that Georgie acted really tired at the reception. All the food that was there and at the rehearsal dinner is at our house."

He asked me to go and bring everything from them that I could find. I did. After taking samples of everything, it was just time to wait.

A couple hours later, he brought me into the hallway. I had been visiting Two-bit.

"Do you know which one you guys ate pizza at?"

"That was the rehearsal dinner. The only people there were us, Darry and Jody, and Jody's parents and brother. Why?"

"You didn't eat any of it?"

"No. It had mushrooms on it. I don't like mushrooms."

"Do you know who brought it?"

"I don't... Why?"

He sighed.

"Those mushrooms were poisonous. It seems that Georgie is the worst off."

"She ate some more of it last night after the wedding before she went to bed."

"You said you have her a sedative last night. I guess you thought she was having a panic attack. I don't think that's what was wrong."

I nodded. I was pissed. Who would try to poison us? Then, a thought occurred to me. I said my thoughts out loud.

"Jody's mom took a slice from her before she could eat it, saying she didn't need to eat pizza the night before her wedding. Oh, no, what about Darry? I have no idea if he ate any..."

"Where is he?"

"Niagara Falls..."

I told him the name of the hotel, and we found out he was sick, too and was in a hospital there. Since Dr. Matthews knew what was wrong with him, they could help him. He handed the phone to me.

"Jody wants to talk to you."

"Hello?"

"It was my mother! She did this!"

"But, why?"

"She didn't want me marrying Darry! He only ate a little bit, so he's not that bad off."

"Georgie is. Marty kept handing her slices..."

Because of this, her parents and brother were hauled in. They all three knew about it, and eventually confessed. Marty confessed he kept giving slices to Georgie because she wouldn't "give him a chance". He had a crush her since they had met.

"They boys will be fine by tonight, but Georgie has a lot in her system. She's gonna be really sick for about a week."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: New

 **Georgie POV**

It was a week before I was ready to go home. Darry and Jody were back, and Soda and Steve were back working at their office. It was still summer, so we were getting used to Jody living in the house.

"Morning. Or should I say, good afternoon, sleepyhead."

"Hey, Jody."

I trudged my way into the kitchen. Ponyboy laughed from the living room.

"You'll learn that she sleeps better during the day. Don't know why, she always has."

"Shut up."

Jody laughed.

"Well, are you hungry?"

"Not really."

The affect of the mushrooms were still fresh. Food just made me nauseous.

"How about some soup at least?"

"Fine."

I went and sat next to Ponyboy.

"I'm never eating mushrooms again..."

"I'm glad I never really liked them. I like mushroom soup, but that's it."

I made a face. He laughed again. We heard the door open and slam.

"Hey, Pony! Miss Trouble!"

"Hey, Two-bit."

"Pony, I'm driving to Oklahoma City to oversee the new DX. Wanna come?"

"Sure. Why not?"

He went to go get ready.

"What're you doing today?"

"I might go see Soda and Steve later."

Jody came in with my soup.

"Plus, she's not 100 percent better yet. She's still pretty weak."

They left and Jody was cleaning up the house. I helped her, and after about an hour, the house was clean.

"You're a better girl than I am. I tried to keep the house clean..."

"But the boys rubbed off on you?"

"More like the house got destroyed every day and I eventually gave up."

"I could see that."

"I'm glad you're here, though."

She gave me a hug.

"I am, too. I love being a part of this family. How much schooling you got left?"

"Two years. I'm glad I get to go back in the fall."

She looked at me a long time.

"You know, I don't know everything about your past, but I can see in your eyes the pain you went through."

"Yeah... But, I'm trying to get through everything. Trouble seems to follow me around. That's why Two-bit calls me 'Miss Trouble'. I either bring it on myself or someone else does, but I'm trying to be better."

She walked over and lifted my sleeves. I had been wearing long sleeves to keep my scars hidden. There were probably over fifty on each arm. She gently touched them.

"Don't worry. They don't hurt, they're healed."

"Are you?"

I thought about it for a minute. Was I healed?

"I don't know if I can ever say that I'm completely healed, but I can say that I'm happy and that I'm trying. I have people who care about me, and that's the most amazing feeling I've ever had."

 **Soda POV**

I hated this stupid cast. It got in my way.

"You okay, buddy?"

"Just annoyed at this thing."

He laughed.

"Don't fall asleep while driving."

"Hey! If that hadn't happened, we may not have ever known we'd been poisoned!"

"Ugh. No more mushrooms ever again."

The door opened.

"Hey, y'all."

"Hey."

I took a good look at her. She still looked a little pale.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I ate some soup."

"That's all you've eaten since you got home three days ago."

"Steve, I'm fine, okay?"

She came and sat next to me.

"How're you doing?"

"I hate this thing."

"Only four more weeks of it."

I made a face. She laughed.

"What're you doing here, anyways?"

"I'm tired of being in the house. And Ponyboy went with Two-bit to Oklahoma City to check on the DX."

Steve looked at me.

"Why would he...?"

I cut him off.

"Yeah, well, we've gotta lot of work to do, so why don't you go to the movies."

I handed her my wallet, and pushed her out the door and locked it. She banged on it.

"Sodapop Patrick Cutis, what're you up to?!"

"Nothing! Just busy!"

She huffed and I heard her walk away.

"That was close..."

"What's going on?"

Steve crossed his arms. I just grinned.

 **Pony POV**

"Where's the new DX?"

"It's on the other side of town. We're not going there."

"Then, where are we going?"

"We gotta pick something up for Sodapop."

I sat there confused, until we pulled up to the building and I saw the sign. I looked over at Two-bit and chuckled.

"Well, it's about time."

"Ain't that the truth. Come on."

 **Georgie POV**

I couldn't sit through a movie. Soda was acting weird and it was bothering me. I finally decided to go back home and take a nap. Later, I heard voices.

"I'm so nervous."

"Don't be! It'll be great, you'll see!"

What was Jody talking about? I pushed myself out of bed and walked down the hall. The gang was all here, so it was normal. Except Soda looked weird.

"Nice bed head."

Jody popped him on the arm.

"Be nice, Two-bit."

Everyone was eating supper. I went and grabbed a plate and joined everyone in the living room. Soda came and sat next to me.

"Hey, you're eating real food!"

I gave him a playful glare.

"Hey, you're not still mad at me, right?"

"Yes."

He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I was busy."

"Mhm."

He gave me a dangerous look. I knew that look. Before I could get away, he was tickling me.

"Stop! Stop! Help, Ponyboy! Darry!"

They both came over, but instead of helping me, Darry grabbed me from behind to hold me down and Ponyboy helped Soda torture me.

"Ah! Stop! Stop!"

"Alright boys, I think you've tortured her enough."

They all stopped and Darry glared.

"You're no fun."

She rolled her eyes.

"That's why you married me, right?"

She kissed him. I was catching my breath from the attack, but I was smiling. I walked out on the porch for a cigarette. A minute later, I heard the screen door shut and turned to see Soda.

"Are you really mad?"

I chuckled.

"I was when you did it. I'm over it, now. No one can stay mad at you for long. You're too charming."

He gave one of his signature smiles, but he was tense.

"Hey, you okay? Does your arm hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. I just..."

He went to the edge of the porch and looked at the stars. I walked up beside him.

"Do you remember the night we talked about the stars? How they watch us?"

"Yeah. I remember that."

"You've made me see things so differently. You're the most special person in my life."

His smiled faded a bit.

"But, I always wonder if I'll ever be able to hold my own against Dallas in your eyes..."

I frowned. I hadn't realized what this had done to Soda.

"Sodapop, look at me."

He looked down at me. I cupped his face with one hand.

"You don't have to worry about that. You're the most special person in my life, too. You would be even if Dallas was alive. When you find that one person, you just know. I'm sorry if I let Dally hold us back, but you know I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

He smiled. Then he looked down.

"Even if I did have to hold my own, I would still do this..."

He pulled a box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. I just about fell over.

"I thought I had been in love before, but that was nothing compared to what I felt when you walked in my life. I've almost lost you several times, and I thank God every day that I haven't. You're my tomboy, my best friend. Georgie Dallas Smith, will you marry me?"

He opened the box. I was crying by this point.

"Get up here!"

I pulled him up and kissed him. After we pulled apart, he eyed me.

"Is that a yes?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Of course it's a yes!"

He smiled and kissed me again. I looked at the ring. This wasn't the same ring he'd bought the year before. He slid it on my finger and pulled me into the house.

"She said yes!"

Everybody whooped and hollered. Steve high-fived him and Jody hugged me with tears in her eyes.

That night, we laid down and Soda out his arm around me.

"I can't believe I'll actually be a Curtis."

He chuckled.

"It was only a matter of time..."

He kissed me, and we went to sleep with smiles on our faces.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Mom

 **Georgie POV**

Me and Pony had just started our third year of college. I was so happy to be back on campus. I got to see all my old friends, and I had every class with Ponyboy.

We'd been in school about a month, and for some reason, I was exhausted by the time I finished homework every day. Sodapop just laughed at me.

"I think you're just tired."

"Of what, though? Nothing's changed. I'm not even planning our wedding right now. I haven't been to school since January..."

Ponyboy walked in the room.

"Pony, you okay?"

He didn't answer. He looked pale.

"Pone?"

"My head hurts."

I walked over and felt his head.

"You're burning up, Ponyboy."

I made him go to bed and take some aspirin, but only after making sure he hadn't taken any. We both were bad for that. A couple of days later, he was starting to act like himself again. Jody had been making the biggest fuss over him like she had with me when I was poisoned. I enjoyed watching him. He hated it. I greeted him overly cheery when I walked into the living room.

"Good afternoon!"

He crossed his arms and glared.

"Bite me..."

"Oh, come on. You're being waited on hand and foot!"

" _Shut up_. You didn't like it either."

I laughed.

"I finished my homework. Did you?"

He nodded. Since we had all classes together, I was able to help him keep up.

"Come on, let's take a nap."

I had been thinking lately what it would be like when me and Soda got married. I knew we wouldn't stay here, but I was wondering what it would be like for this not to be home.

Darry had told us that they would probably move after we moved out. This wouldn't be home anymore. I didn't like to think about it. I don't think Soda did either. Maybe that's why, as much as we wanted to get married, we hadn't even started planning the wedding yet.

"Hey, come on. Dinner's ready."

I opened my eyes to see Soda standing over me. He was whispering. I climbed out of the bed careful not to wake Pony. He talked when we shut the door.

"You know, you'll get sick too if you sleep in his germ infested bed."

He smirked.

"Eh... Maybe not."

"You're never gonna sleep tonight."

"Oh well. At least it's Thursday. No class tomorrow."

He chuckled. Later that night I walked out on the porch for a smoke and he followed me.

"You know, we need to start planning the wedding, Georgie..."

"Do you even want a wedding?"

"Don't you?"

I shrugged.

"All that matters to me is that we get married. I don't have to have a wedding."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. I only want the gang there, anyways."

We had decided to talk about it more later. Over the next couple of days I got a letter from the state. I didn't go to class that day, but no one knew that. Ponyboy got home around 2:00. Our last class ended at 1:20.

"Where the hell were you? You told me you were running late! Why didn't you... Hey, you okay?"

I handed him the letter. He looked up at me.

"Your mom's out?"

I nodded. The letter was from the state saying she requested her ban from having any contact with me be lifted.

"What're you gonna do?"

"I don't know."

"Do you wanna see her?"

"No."

As much as I didn't want to see her, I arranged one meeting with her to decide what to do. I was sitting in this diner in Oklahoma City, when I saw my mom and her representative walk in. They sat down, and at first it wasn't so bad. I was actually truly considering lifting the restraining order.

"I'm so happy you and Sodapop are gonna get married. It's wonderful."

"Yeah. I'm excited."

"Have you looked at houses yet?"

"A few."

"Well, I wanna live with you when you get one."

"What?"

"I have nowhere to go. Surely you don't want me to live on the street."

"Are you serious right now?"

She nodded. An overly sweet smile on her face.

"I'm completely serious. After all, you wouldn't even be with Sodapop if I hadn't..."

"Stop it..."

"Stop what?"

"You're not guilting me into this. You're not."

"I'm your mom. I think I deserve some..."

"No... You're not living with me."

She looked taken aback.

"You can go live with Aunt Carol. You don't deserve anything from me. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you finally did go do the right thing, but you can't use that against me. I want you in my life, but we have to build that relationship back up. You can just waltz back into my life like nothing happened."

She stared at me with cold eyes. A complete change from the look she gave me earlier.

"What kind of a daughter won't take in her own mother?!"

"What kind of a mother would let their child live through what I had to for six years."

"You ungrateful little brat! It ended because of me!"

I stayed calm. I didn't let her rile me up.

"It didn't end because of you. I still suffer from it. I still haven't slept with Soda and we share a room."

She looked shocked.

"I have to take medication for panic attacks. They're not always caused by that experience, but it still happens. And I still have nightmares because of it."

"Bitch, I saved you..."

I couldn't believe she's just said that. She hadn't saved me. The gang had. I was about to snap...

"Walk away..."

I turned to see Dally behind me. I got up and walked away, hearing my mom scream at me.

Later that night, I went to Darry and Jody and told them what happened.

"Did I do the right thing, Darry? Should I have agreed to let her? Am I a bad daughter?"

"Hey, hey. Calm down."

He was on one side while Jody was on the other.

"I'm proud of you. You did what was best for _you_. That's a good thing."

"Really?"

Jody calmly stroked my hair.

"You may be 22, but you're still so youthful. You did the right thing. Don't let that bother you."

Later that night, I had a nightmare. I hadn't had one in a while, and I think it scared Soda half to death.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize."

Am I the worst daughter in the world?

 **Author's note: I wasn't sure how to do this chapter. I wanted Dally's point to come across that people get mean in jail, but I don't know. I'm worried that Georgie should've just caved in and let her mom live with her. What do you think?**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Houses

 **Georgie POV**

After talking with Darry and Jody, I decided not to lift the ban from my mom. She's not the same, and I doubt she ever will be. I've been avoiding the hole in my chest until now. If I keep it up, I'll only hurt myself and everyone around me. Walking into Andrew's office at the Lion House was hard. I didn't tell anyone I was going to see him.

"Hi, Georgie. I'm so glad to see you."

"Hi, Andrew."

"I'm glad you called me. It shows that you are truly recovering."

We chatted a few minutes and then I told him what happened. What was going on. How I felt.

"Have you talked to the others about it?"

I shook my head.

"I told them what happened, I didn't tell them how I felt about it."

"How _do_ you feel about it?"

I sat there for a minute contemplating it.

"I don't think I feel bad about it... I think it's just hard for me. I don't wanna bother them with it because they had great parents who cared about them and lost them. Mine cared once, but those memories don't compare to the bad ones. I know I shouldn't think this way, but I feel like they wouldn't completely understand if I tried to talk to them."

"Do you know someone who would?"

A lightbulb went off in my head.

"Yeah... But I've never gone to them about something like this before."

"Well, if you consider this person a friend, then maybe you should."

 **Steve POV**

I was at the DX helping the boys working with the cars. Even though I love having money and finally living on my own, I still love fixing cars.

"Stevie!"

"Busy, Radcliffe!"

"Some girl's here to see you!"

I slid from under the car with a groan. Ever since word got around about me and Soda owning a bunch of DX's, Evie'd been trying to win me back.

"Tell her I'm busy!"

"I don't think I can do that. She's pretty stubborn."

"Just tell her, dammit!"

I went back to what I was doing.

"Ma'am, you can't go back there!"

I felt a hand on my ankle and someone pull me out from under the car. She smirked at my scowl.

"You better not be too busy to talk to me, Steve Randle."

I saw Radcliffe grab her arm.

"Ma'am, I told you..."

"Its okay. This is Soda's girl."

I got up off the ground and gave her a hug. Radcliffe looked like he was about to hurl. She laughed.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know."

He nodded and I told him to finish what I started. We walked out of the garage.

"Sorry. I thought you were Evie. She's been trying to get back with me."

She laughed. I scowled again. Then, a thought occurred to me.

"Soda's in Oklahoma City with Two-bit. He'll be back later this afternoon, though. I figured he'd tell you."

"He did. I wasn't looking for him."

She looked down. I knew something was on her mind. She needed to talk to someone.

"Pony's down at the high school track running. I can take..."

"Do you have to work right now or can you get away...?"

"You wanna talk to me?"

"I came looking for you, didn't I?"

I looked at my watch.

"How about some lunch?"

She smiled.

"Sounds good."

We rode in silence. At the Dingo, we ordered our food and ate, but she still hadn't spilled. We were drinking our desert shakes when she finally spoke.

"I went to talk to Andrew this morning."

"You did?"

She nodded. That concerned me because that meant something was wrong.

"I need to talk to someone..."

"Uh... Don't take this the wrong way, but shouldn't you talk to Pony or Soda? Maybe even Two-bit?"

Don't get me wrong, we were close. I cared for her a lot, she just didn't come to me with stuff. She went to Ponyboy mostly, which honestly bothered Soda a lot. Still does.

"It's not something they can help me with... Can we, uh, go to the park?"

I don't know what it is, but we had only had heavy talks those two times I found her at the park. We walked up to the fountain and she sat down against it. I sat next to her.

"I'm sure Soda told you about my mom."

I nodded. He had.

"I have this hole in my chest that's growing, and if I don't talk about it then I'm going to end up back at the Lion House, and I don't wanna go back. You're the only one who might understand."

"Okay. Spill."

The last thing anyone needed was for her to end up back in that place. If talking would prevent it, I would listen.

"As much as I love my life, It still hurts that my parents don't care. You guys are my family and my parents aren't. I love you guys, but it still hurts that..."

She was trying not to cry in front of me. I put my arm around her shoulder. I said what she was trying to say because I got it.

"The gang can't be parents. I know, believe me. I know..."

As much as the gang is my family, she was right. They can't be parents because we're all too close in age. That's why Pony and Darry clashed for so long, because Darry's not his dad and Ponyboy was so young.

"I feel bad for Darry... He was already taking care of his brothers and I stepped in and he was taking care of me, too."

"He took care of me and Two-bit and Johnny and Dally before... Shit, I'm sorry."

She gave me a crooked smile.

"Don't be. I know he took care of them, too. I just don't wanna be bitter about it..."

"But it's hard. That's why I have an attitude. At least I ain't so hard on Pony anymore."

"If you were, you'd get it..."

I chuckled.

"But, even though we don't have parents, we have people who care about us a lot. Kids in foster care sometimes don't get that. They turn 18 and they're on their own."

We chatted for a few more minutes. It was normal talk, she had said all she needed to say. She got it off her chest, but she still had red rims around her eyes from crying.

"Hey, what are you two doing out here?"

I glanced up to see Sodapop. I nodded to her, he got the message and knelt down next to her.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

We had went to the house and walked to the park. It was cold and I was glad Soda had brought his car.

He nodded to it and helped her up. She started walking. He made me hang back.

"She okay?"

I knew not knowing what went on with her bothered him. I couldn't figure out why she went to Ponyboy so much but I knew why she came to me today. She's right. As much as they would try to understand, none of them could. I told him the truth.

"Thanks. I appreciate it Appreciate you and Two-bit for..."

"Don't, Sodapop. She's our family, too."

He smiled and we walked back to the car to a scowling Georgie.

"It's cold!"

"You two were the ones sitting in the middle of the park, not me!"

 **Soda POV**

We were looking at a house. We'd been looking for weeks, but couldn't find one we liked. I was sitting on the front steps of it when Georgie sat next to me, the real estate agent passing us.

"You guys take time to discuss it, I'll leave you be."

She got in her car and left.

"I can't look at another house with her. She looks down on us."

It was true. Though we had the money, we still looked like greasers. I'm sure she doubted we even had it.

"I don't think I wanna live in Soc territory, Sodapop."

"I don't think I do, either."

She sighed.

"So, where do we go from here?"

I thought about it.

"Darry's been looking at that house down the street from our's, right?"

" _Right_? Oh, we can't buy that, it'll crush him."

"Do you even wanna move?"

She was biting her lip. It didn't matter how much money we had, we were still us. We weren't Soc's.

"Isn't that what we're suppose to do?"

"Not necessarily. Darry does, but I don't."

"What're you getting at?"

"Let's buy our house."

She smiled so brightly I couldn't help but kiss her right then.

Darry was confused, but when I offered him double of what he was asking, Jody stepped in to say it was a fine idea.

 **Georgie POV**

We were getting married at the courthouse in five days. I was excited, but I had something on my mind.

"Hey."

"Hey... Soda?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed that... Well..."

"That Ponyboy looks sad?"

I looked to the ground. I knew Soda was ready for us to live on our own, but this is the house Pony grew up in. I almost think it would be _less_ painful for him if a stranger was buying the house. Something inside me snapped and I ran inside dragging Soda with me. Ponyboy was reading a book on the couch and I snatched it from him.

"Hey!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled them into Ponyboy's room.

"Sit."

Both boys did as they were told. It was kind of funny because at that moment, they almost look 15 and 17 again instead of 23 and 21.

"Okay, listen. I'm slow and I just figured out something now that I'm not even sure you two have noticed."

Both boys looked at me expectedly. I sighed.

"Do you remember how close you two were before I came here?"

"Georgie, don't..."

"Zip it."

Pony bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything else.

"I'm not saying it's my fault necessarily but it is because of me."

I looked at Pony.

"Ponyboy, I know that when Johnny was your best friend you still went to Soda, when's the last time you did?"

He looked deep in thought. I turned to Soda.

"Sodapop, Pony's my best friend. I'm sorry if it seems like I go to him a lot, but that's only because we're so much alike and we have classes together so we're around each other a lot. It's nothing personal. You don't have to have any bitterness towards him."

I was starting to get flustered. Soda looked guilty.

"This didn't start after Ponyboy liked me either. This was going on before, although I'm not exactly sure when it all went south."

They both looked sheepish, avoiding each other's gaze.

"I'm not going to stay here for the next few days. You both already know that I'm staying with Julie. You two have got to be close again. You're grown up, not dead. You understood each other as kids and teenagers, you can now. Hell, we're not grown up. We may be adults by the law, but I know that all three of us have something that Darry doesn't which is our young spirit."

This conversations, that was just me talking, was tiring. I sighed and looked down.

"I miss the relationship you guys had when I first came here. I admired it. It was something that I couldn't have had with Dally no matter how much I tried. You two are going to spend the next five days together. You got me?"

They both nodded.

"Good. My bags are packed. I'm leaving."

I kissed Soda and Pony kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll see you both on Friday."

 **Pony POV**

We just sat there for a few minutes. Not saying a word. I hadn't even really noticed, but now that I was sitting here with him, it was awkward. Like we had nothing to talk about. He cleared his throat.

"So, you wanna hang out tomorrow? Skip school?"

"Don't you have to work, Soda?"

He gave me one of his crazy grins.

"The great thing about being the owner is I don't have nobody to answer to except Steve. He'll get over it."

"The hell he will..."

We both turned to see Steve standing in the doorway.

"Yeah. You will."

He scowled, but didn't say anything else and walked away.

"He took three days off to nurse a hangover last week. That's why he's not arguing with me."

I had to laugh and Steve came back and tackled me, but I was laughing too hard to even care.

 **Soda POV**

The first day was a little awkward, but by the third day, it was as if nothing had changed.

"Man, Soda! I still can't believe you're getting married in two days!"

I grinned at my baby brother, and for the first time, I'm realizing he's not a baby anymore.

"Why're you staring at me like that?"

"You grew up on me! When did that happen?!"

"Uh... About three years ago, Sodapop... Where've you been?"

"I guess not paying attention..."

"Don't feel bad. I wasn't paying attention to you either. You grew up on me, too..."

"Hey, Pone?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't wanna leave the house, do you."

It was a statement, not a question. But I knew him, he was good at lying.

"It's cool. At least I can come see it whenever I want now."

There it was. That little twitch his eye he did when he was lying. I was one of the only people who could see it. Georgie and Darry being the others.

"How about I make you a deal?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"What kind of deal?"

"If you give us a month in the house alone, you can move in with us."

"Soda, don't. It's okay. You guys deserve to..."

I stopped him with my hand.

"I want you to. I promise. Just give me month of alone time with her. Your room is yours to keep as long as you want."

He grinned from ear to ear.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, Ponyboy."

 **Author's note: I just noticed how much time has passed in this story, and it's crazy how I see Georgie as 22 when I first imagined her as 16 in Fate. This, for some reason, was a really fun chapter for me to write. It's one of my favorite chapters in this story. Please review! I don't have many reviews, and I would like to know what y'all think of it! Thank you!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Newlyweds

 **Georgie POV**

"Today's the day! Less than an hour before you're officially a Curtis!"

"I know, Jules."

I was already a Curtis, it would just be on paper, now. Steve walked in.

"Hey, you read... Oh, hey Julie..."

"Hi..."

Julie was... Blushing? Oh, this was perfect. Steve cleared his throat.

"I'll be in the truck when you're ready..."

"Oh. My. Gosh."

"Georgie, don't..."

"You like him! You like him a lot!"

She blushed more, but smiled.

"I've barely ever talked to him."

"Jules, I know you. I've known you since Junior year. I know you..."

She shoved me playfully and I shoved her back.

"Did you get the paperwork for the house?"

"Yeahp. It's officially our's. Darry, Jody, and Pony moved out a couple of days ago, but Pony's moving back in a month."

"Why? Won't that be weird?"

"I don't think so. We're already used to it. He won't live there forever. He's just started seeing that girl Gloria, and I think they're pretty serious."

We got in Steve's truck. I hadn't seen Sodapop in five days and I was ready to.

We'd be leaving for our honeymoon right after the ceremony, and we'd get to our hotel tonight. Truth be told, I was scared to death for that. I knew that I'd have to get over myself by then. I'd have to actually _sleep_ with Sodapop. You know what I mean. Andrew said it was perfectly normal for me to be scared, but I couldn't help but feel bad. I didn't wanna start bursting into tears. I just tried to put in on the back burner until then. I needed to focus on getting married to the best man in the world.

 **Soda POV**

"Now, you can kiss the bride."

I leaned down and kissed her. I was beaming. I was so happy to be married to the girl I'd been in love with for over five years.

We left right after the judge said we were married. Darry drove us to the airport. Since she lived Mickey Mouse so much, just like Two-bit, I decided to take her to Disney World for a week. It'd only been open a year and she had talked about how much she'd like to go.

When we got there and checked in, we were both tired, but still had adrenaline running through us. I had noticed that she'd been a little tense since we'd checked into our hotel, and I knew why.

She kept dropping things when she was trying to get everything set up in the bathroom.

"Shit!"

She hardly ever cursed. I chuckled and went and stood in the doorway leaning against the frame.

"You don't usually cuss this much."

I startled her and she jumped. I frowned.

"Hey, it's okay."

"No, it's not..."

She looked down into the sink and then put a fake smile on her face. She pushed passed me and sat on the bed. She was trying to take off her shoes and was so flustered she was having trouble. I walked over and knelt in front of her and grabbed her hands.

"Hey, hey. Stop it."

She let out a huff.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I..."

"Again. Stop it."

I sighed and started talking to her in a low voice.

"You don't think I know this is scary for you?"

She looked up at me surprised.

"Don't give me that look."

"How am I gonna do this..."

I lifted her chin to look at me.

" _We_ are gonna get through this. We're a team now. We were before, but now it's official. We can get through it together. I know you're scared, and I won't push for anything. But, we do need to try it. You want kids. You've told me a hundred times."

She gave me a crooked smile.

"Okay. So, what do we do?"

"We take it one step at a time, and you tell me if it gets too much and we'll stop."

She nodded. I started kissing her. She was tense.

"We're just kissing. We make out all the time. Relax. It will happen naturally."

She relaxed and I started kissing her again. I slowly laid her on the bed and was on top of her. She was letting herself enjoy the making out and things started to get heated.

 **Georgie POV**

The next day, we went to the Magic Kingdom and had a blast. We went every day, and at night, we had our own fun.

I never had anything to be afraid of. Once it started, everything was fine and I could tell Soda was relieved and happy that we had no problems.

Going home was odd at first. But, when we got there, we realized the gang had already set everything up for us. The whole house, minus Ponyboy's room, was fixed up differently. Our new bed was in Darry and Jody's old room, our old room was empty, and the rest of the house had furniture that I had picked out earlier in the month. The walls also had pictures on them. Some from when we all were in High School, some from where me and Soda started dating, some of the entire gang, one of me and Jody. It was nice. It was _home_.

 **Soda POV**

It was almost Christmas. Ponyboy had just moved back in, and it was nice. The house had been kind of quiet, and I don't like it quiet. We had decided that we'd still do Christmas at our house because we always had. Steve and Two-bit had been over a lot, and Jody and Darry came a lot on the weekends. We had gotten into a certain groove.

 **Two-bit POV**

"Anybody home?"

"Yeah, in here!"

I walked into the kitchen to see Georgie. She looked odd.

"What's up, Miss Trouble?"

"Yeah. I'm in trouble alright..."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

I gave her a look. She just rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I've been hiding it for two weeks and I'm about to explode. I think I'm pregnant..."

My eyes went wide.

"We weren't planning on having any until I graduated... That's over a year away..."

I put an arm around her.

"Hey, you don't know for sure, so try not to worry."

A couple of days went by and Mother Nature told her she was in the clear. That was definitely an awkward conversation. It was Christmas, though, and we were all at their house. Georgie had turned into quite the cook. Jody had taught her well. Although, I went and looked and there were blue, chunky mash potatoes sitting on the table. I frowned. She chuckled when she saw me.

"He insisted on making _something_ for this. I couldn't say no."

"Yeah. You really could've."

 **Georgie POV**

We were all spread out in the living room. Gloria, Jules, and a girl named Andrea were there, too. Jules and Steve had started dating, Pony asked Gloria to come, and Two-bit brought Andrea. She was new, but I could tell he really liked her.

"I can't believe she's not a blonde."

He glared at me.

"Zip it!"

Jody stood up.

"We have an announcement! I'm pregnant!"

We were all happy for them, but I couldn't help thinking that I wanted kids. I had told Soda I wanted three, and it was killing me that I was having to wait. Jody knew that it was, but told me it was for the best. Later that night, I crawled into bed with Soda not far behind me pulling me close.

"It was a good Christmas."

"Compared to some Christmases we've had, yeah."

He chuckled.

"Can't believe you weren't sick."

"I can't believe you got a toy train."

"Hey, it's awesome! It goes on its own and everything!"

I kissed his nose.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Old Flame

 **Pony POV**

We had just finished our third year of school. One more year to go. I was glad it was summer, I needed a break. Living with Soda and Georgie was great. They didn't hover over me as much as Darry and Jody did, but then again, they weren't that much older than me.

I had spent the day with Two-bit, getting into mischief of course, and I walked into the living room and heard a strange sound.

"Georgie?"

I ran into the kitchen to see her on the floor gasping for air. I ran to get her pills, but she was out.

"Shit!"

I ran back into the room and knelt next to her.

"Georgie, honey, there's no more pills."

That seemed to make it worse.

"Didn't Andrew teach you something to help with that?"

I remembered something like that being in her paper that Andrew had given us the day she left the Lion House. I saw her get into fetal position and I rubbed her back. After a few minutes, she was starting to calm down, but not very much. I called Soda and Darry happen to walk in the door around that time.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Go see Georgie. She's having a panic attack and she's out of medicine. Sodapop's about to go get it and come back."

I pointed and Darry darted for the kitchen. After talking with Soda, me and Darry got her on the couch. She had calmed down a little, but her breathing was still short and raspy.

"Easy. Just try to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth."

She was trying, and it was working a little bit, but she needed a sedative. The panic attack had gone too far to go away. If she'd had done it when it first started, she could've calmed herself down. Soda walked in and I already had a glass of water ready. Soda took her to their room and came out about ten minutes later.

"She's out like a light."

"Jeeze, I'll be honest, I don't miss those."

Darry looked shaken. Soda chuckled.

"She rarely has them. Usually happens when she's flustered about something and doesn't calm down enough."

He walked into the kitchen and we followed sitting down at the table. Soda was looking at all the stuff on the counter then he looked in the trash can.

"Looks like she might've been trying a new recipe or something. Probably got frustrated because she kept doing something wrong."

He took a deep breath and sat down.

"She should know not to get herself all worked up."

Darry sighed. Soda shrugged.

"At least it got me out of going to the Oklahoma City DX's with Two-bit. We were just about to leave when you called."

Darry went into parental mode.

"You really shouldn't be thankful for her medical problems."

Me and Soda looked at each other and busted out laughing. Darry had never had to ride with Two-bit for that long. He left after a few minutes, and me and Soda were sitting in the living room watching tv.

"How long has it been since she had one?"

"Probably around five or six months. I remember _now_ that we had used the last one at the time. We both meant to go get the refill, but we both kept getting busy."

"Do you think she'll ever not need them?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't bother me. Remember when she used to have them at _least_ once a week?"

I shuddered. That had been hard on all of us.

"What about nightmares?"

"I think she'll always have those, but those are easier to handle. I just wake her up and she goes back to sleep and doesn't have another one."

"You know, I still have nightmares sometimes..."

He gave me a look.

"You do?"

"Yeah. Not too much, but it does happen. I just don't scream anymore. Guess it comes with getting older. Those two months Georgie slept with me were interesting. We would switch back and forth, neither of us had them at the same time."

"She never told me you still had them."

"She wouldn't tell you she still had them if you didn't sleep in the same bed as her. You know that."

"Thanks for telling me. If you ever need us in the middle of the night, just holler."

"How do you sleep if she still has nightmares?"

"I slept when you had them, and she doesn't have them every night or anything. Most nights are nightmare free. I'm just saying she still has them. I think she'll always have those and panic attacks, but I've dealt with them long enough that I don't know anything different. Neither do you, admit it."

I nodded. It was true. Even Steve, Two-bit, and Jody knew how to deal with them. We didn't know anything different. We go on autopilot.

 **Georgie POV**

I felt groggy and didn't know why. My eyes felt heavy, but I opened them. I heard the door open.

"Hey, you're awake."

"What happened?"

He gave me a questioning look.

"What do you remember?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"I was... Cooking? I think?"

"Yeah, you had a panic attack."

I groaned. Pony laughed and I shot him a bird.

"I'm surprised you're awake. You've only been out two hours. Go back to sleep."

"Where's Soda?"

"He went back to work. You want me to call him? I'm sure he'd..."

"No, no. I was making sure he _wasn't_ here. But he was?"

"Yeah."

He sat on the edge of the bed.

"I wouldn't have called him, but you were out of pills and you couldn't calm yourself down."

"Damn, I've been meaning to get them."

He chuckled. I felt my eyes get heavy again.

"Get some sleep. I'll be here if you need me."

I nodded and went into a peaceful sleep.

A few days went by before I was on a good sleep schedule again. I had taken my old job back at the library. I liked it. Pony did, too because I could check out as many books as I wanted. We were never bored. I was putting books away one day...

"Hey."

"Cherry?"

I looked up to see her standing there smiling.

"Hey, how are you, Georgie?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Good. How're you and Sodapop doing?"

I lifted up my hand.

"You got married? That's great!"

"Thanks."

We sat at a table and chatted for a few minutes.

"So, what are you doing back?"

"Well, I just graduated and got a job. I'm gonna be a teacher at the High School. Did Two-bit finally graduate? I don't know if I can sit through a class with him, he'd crack me up the whole time."

I laughed.

"No, he's done. He's actually the manager of six DX's. Soon to be eight."

"Really? That's good."

"Yeah, he knew the owners."

"Mr. Rivers?"

"No, he retired. Actually, it's Soda and Steve."

"Wow. That's really cool."

I told her about Darry getting married and the gang all settling down in a way.

"Are you guys all still close?"

"Oh, yeah. Two-bit and Steve come over every night and Ponyboy lives with us."

"It's hard for me to imagine you guys as adults. How old were you the last time I saw you?"

"I think 18? Maybe 19? I'm 23 now."

"Wow. I feel old."

"You're only one year older than me."

"I know, I know. But, when you go away, you imagine people staying the same."

"You haven't met anybody?"

"I've dated here and there."

She looked down.

"I was kinda hoping that Ponyboy would be available."

I knew she meant well, but that statement made my blood boil a little bit, although I didn't show it.

"Sorry. Him and Gloria are getting pretty serious."

"I know, I know. I probably wouldn't make a move anyways..."

She left after a few minutes.

A few days later, I came home to see Ponyboy sitting on the couch holding a letter and looking 14 again.

"Hey, something wrong?"

He handed me the letter.

 _Dear Ponyboy,_

 _I know you're seeing someone, but I know there's something between us. Don't you remember sunsets? How'd you like to see one with me? I told you, I liked you from the start, I was just too young to let it really show. Please give me a chance?_

 _Cherry Valance_

Her number was at the bottom. This pissed me off, but I didn't say anything about it. It was Ponyboy's decision.

"What do I do?"

I sat in from of him on the coffee table.

"You do what you wanna do."

 **Pony POV**

Here I was, meeting Cherry to watch a sunset. She was at the park before I was.

"Hey, Ponyboy."

"Cherry."

We sat down in the grass and didn't say another word and watched the sunset. After that, she turned to me.

"I'm glad you came. I wanted to talk to you in person. About us."

"Yeah?"

"I think we should try it. We're not where we have to be divided anymore, and I really did always like you."

I sighed.

"Cherry, I'm with Gloria..."

"But, don't you even wanna see if we could work?"

I shook my head.

"Cherry, you were my first real crush. I liked you a lot. But, that's all it was. A crush. I'm in love with Gloria..."

"You might would be in love with me if you gave me a chance."

"Like you did me?"

"I'm sorry... I told you, I was young."

"I know. I get it, but... I don't have those feelings for you. Not anymore."

Her face fell. I felt guilty.

"Gloria's the one for me. I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry... I should've never... I... Especially after all these years."

"Friends?"

I held my hand out. She smiled and took it.

"Friends."

We caught up a little bit then went our separate ways. When I got home, Gloria was cooking with Georgie.

"Hey, where've you been?"

I kissed her temple.

"I had to take care of some unfinished business. Don't worry, it's _over_ now."

I looked over at Georgie, who was stirring the pot but smiling. I smiled, too. Gloria was always the one. I didn't doubt it for a second.

Soda walked in.

"Mmm... Something smells good!"

I scoffed.

"You're only saying that because its spaghetti. That's your favorite."

"Your point?"

We all ate around the table, laughing and smiling. I looked over at Gloria. Yeah, I'd definitely made the right decision picking my girl. A girl who knows how to do things right.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: Thanksgiving

 **Georgie POV**

I was glad it was Thanksgiving break. My last year of school was proving to be the hardest. Me and Soda had been planning on going to see Aunt Carol for Thanksgiving, but she told us not to because my mom had finally decided to stay with her.

I was actually relieved we wouldn't be going. I needed to just take it easy. I had been feeling really tired the last couple of weeks. Just really run down.

Right now, I was babysitting my new nephew, Darry. He was almost three months old, and he was just precious.

"You're gonna be a great mom."

"You're gonna be a great dad. What're you doing home?"

He shrugged.

"Me and Steve decided to let everybody go home. It was the last day of work, anyway. How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I don't know..."

Jody came by to get Darry later, and I was relaxing on the couch. Ponyboy was out with Gloria, and I was preparing because I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Soda walked in from the kitchen.

"You sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm sure."

Truth be told, I felt lousy. I knew why he was thinking that. I was never one to just lounge around when I was awake. I was always moving.

"How about I go get us something to eat instead of us cooking anything?"

"Sounds good."

He called the Dingo and about thirty minutes later, we went and got it and ate in the living room just talking and laughing. It was nice. We didn't usually eat by ourselves. Someone was always there.

After we were done, we just cuddled on the couch until Ponyboy got home. He was beaming.

"Hey, you look happy. Too happy..."

"I asked her..."

My eyes got wide.

"Alright, buddy! She said yes!"

Soda got up and hugged him.

"You asked Gloria to marry you?!"

"He sure did! I helped him pick out the ring and everything!"

I smiled. Last year, Pony wouldn't have asked Soda to help him with that. I got up and hugged him.

"I'm so glad. I love Gloria."

"She loves you, too. She's never had a sister."

The next morning, I got up and started making the dinner for the next day. Around 10:00, Pony walked into the kitchen.

"Need any help with anything?"

"Yeah, you can..."

"You okay...?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick..."

I ran to the bathroom and threw up. It hit me all of the sudden, and I almost didn't make it. I walked out of the bathroom and he put his hand on my head.

"You don't feel warm."

Soda trudged down the hall. I'd woke him up.

"Who's sick?"

"No one."

Ponyboy gave me a look.

"You just yacked everywhere."

"Yeah, but I feel fine, now."

Soda shook his head.

"Georgie..."

"No, I swear. I do, I really do."

They both gave me a look, but didn't argue. I did feel fine, and never felt weird again.

The next day, everything was set. Everyone was suppose to be coming at 11:00. At 10:00 on the dot while us three were in the living room, it happened again.

"Uh oh..."

"What is..."

I ran to the bathroom before he could finish asking. What was wrong with me? Soda came in and was rubbing my back.

"I thought you said you were okay."

"I am. I don't get it..."

I felt fine again. A little nauseous, but fine. The day went by without a hitch after that. We had all stayed up late, and we ended up going to bed late, so we slept in. At some point the next morning, I sat up straight out of my sleep and puked over the side of the bed. Soda woke up and rubbed my back while Ponyboy entered the room. After I was done, I looked over at the clock. 9:38. I got up to go get cleaning supplies. Soda stopped me.

"I got it. You stay in bed."

"But, I feel fine now."

He shook his head and Pony gave me a look. I laid back down while he cleaned up the mess. Around noon, I didn't wanna be in bed anymore. I walked into the living room and Soda stood up.

"You shouldn't be up right now."

"I feel okay, Sodapop."

He sighed.

"I'm taking you to the doctor this afternoon. I called."

I groaned.

"Soda, I don't need a doctor."

"You've gotten sick the past few mornings. You need to get checked out."

"I want some watermelon..."

He gave me a look.

"What?"

I crossed my arms and pouted.

"I want some watermelon."

"But, you hate watermelon..."

"Well, I want some! And I'm gonna go get some!"

I started to walk out the door, but he stopped me.

"I'll go get you some. Okay?"

I huffed and he left. Then, I felt really bad. Where did that come from?

 **Soda POV**

She hadn't said a word to me since that conversation earlier that day. I hoped Dr. Matthews could tell us what was going on. While waiting in the room, she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

She started crying. I was by her in a second.

"What's wrong?"

"I was mean to you! I didn't mean to be!"

"It's fine, it happens."

"I don't feel like myself. I don't know what's going on."

"I do."

We both turned to Dr. Matthews.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Curtis. You're expecting."

My eyes got wide.

"She is?!"

"She is."

He gave a few details, recommended a gynecologist, set us up an appointment with her and left.

"This is great!"

I was thrilled, but she looked panicked.

"I'm sorry! I thought we were so careful! I know we said we'd wait until I was out of school..."

"Hey, hey! You'll be out of school before you have the baby. I'm happy!"

She smiled and we hugged.

"Now I know why you wanted watermelon earlier."

"Yeah, I had a craving."

"The first of many, I'm sure."

Later that night, me and Steve were on the front porch and I was smoking. The events of the day had drained me.

"Man, can't believe you're gonna be a dad, Sodapop."

"Believe it, man. I'm ready."

"Really?"

"I've always known that she wanted a family, and you saw how I was with Ponyboy. I'll be honest, it killed me when he got too big to play around."

He scoffed.

"That's because secretly you liked it. You'll never grow up."

"Nope, he's my Peter Pan."

I reddened. That had been our secret. Steve was trying to hold in a laugh.

"P-Peter Pan?"

"Steve, I swear to..."

He burst out laughing. I tackled him and we wrestled in the yard.

"Supper's ready when you two bozos get done goofing around."

We got up and started walking into the house, but Steve stopped me.

"Hey, I'm happy for you. Maybe our kids will be best friends since they'll be the same age."

"Yeah, maybe s... Wait, what?!"

"Yeahp. You ain't the only one. We're gonna get hitched next week."

Steve was smiling. Georgie poked her head out the door.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Jules told me the other day. Congrats!"

I glared. She shrugged.

"Sorry. A little scatter brained at the moment. At least I won't be alone."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: March

 **Georgie POV**

Let me just say this, doing school and being pregnant isn't that fun. I was four months along, so I was hungry and tired all the time, but wanted to clean. It was starting to drive the boys crazy.

"Stop!"

He grabbed my hands to make me stop scrubbing the coffee table.

"You need to calm down. That's the third time you've cleaned that today."

"Ponyboy, I have to do something. I feel sick if I don't."

He rubbed his hands over his face.

"Why don't you and Jules get out and about tomorrow. It's Saturday."

I shook my head.

"Can't. Have a project due for English Lit. It was assigned two weeks ago and I haven't even started."

"Why haven't you started?"

"I forgot about it. He reminded us about it yesterday."

He sighed and grabbed my arm and pulled me on the couch.

"Okay, something... Something is bugging you. Soda's noticed it, too."

"Yeah. I have."

We both looked at the door to see him standing there with his arms crossed.

"You're early."

He looked around.

"Um... I don't think this place could get any cleaner than it is."

"No kidding..."

I glared at both of them, ready to pounce.

 **Soda POV**

After seeing the look she gave me, I had to approach this carefully. Her hormones had been crazier than ever. I had thought she was trouble before. She was even more stubborn now, and I didn't think that was humanly possible. I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off.

"Don't bother. I know I'm hard to handle right now... These hormones are just... Yeah, they're throwing me out of whack. I was crazy before, now I'm just insane."

I frowned. I knew it was gonna be like this, and I had no problem with it.

"It's okay, but I think this is more than just you being pregnant. I think something's bothering you, and the hormones are just putting it into overdrive."

I sat beside her. Ponyboy took this opportunity to excuse himself to go hang out with Gloria.

"Come on, what's going on?"

She sighed.

"I'm afraid..."

"I know you are, but I'll be there every step..."

She shook her head and cut me off.

"No. Not about that. I mean, I am scared of that, but I'm more scared of this. It's driving me insane, like I said."

"What is? What're you scared of? Talk to me."

"I'm afraid of being a mom..."

"Why? You'll make a great mom."

"But... But, what if I'm like my mom?"

She started crying. I wrapped my arms around her.

"You won't be..."

"But.."

"No. Have you seen the way you are with Darry? You adore him. You will not be like your mom. You'll be the best mom because of what you've been through. You'll love that kid unconditionally and _never_ let anyone hurt them. You're not your mom. You will _never_ be her."

She calmed down and we started talking. The phone rand and she answered it. She started smiling really big.

"What? What is it?"

She told me to shush.

"That's amazing! Yeah... Oh, I'm so happy for you! Yeah. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow!"

She hung up the phone.

"That was Andrea."

"What's she tell you?"

"Two-bit asked her to marry him."

Later that night, after Georgie went to bed, all the boys were on the front porch smoking, except Darry. He was smiling.

"I can't believe we've all found somebody. I have to say, I thought only Soda here would settle down."

Ponyboy smirked.

"I can't believe Two-bit's not marrying a blonde..."

Me and Steve busted out laughing.

"Ponyboy, you wound me! I have found me a nice lady! You didn't think I would?"

The rest of us looked at each other.

"Jackasses..."

 **Author's note: Wednesday was a hard day for me, but writing this chapter actually helped me forget about stuff for a little while. I will probably write another chapter tomorrow, but if not, there will be one up by Monday. I will warn you, there probably won't be too many chapters left. I have so much enjoyed writing Fate and then writing Life. There will be an Epilogue at the end. But, don't worry. I have a new Outsiders fanfic already in my head. This story will end, but a new one will begin. I hate to see it end myself, but it will. Georgie is definitely very special to me, and is just like me in many ways. She's a part of me, the part I usually keep hidden from the world. I love you guys, you're the best. Please review!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four: Graduation

 **Pony POV**

We had taken our finals and had finished school, both passing with honors. We were getting ready for graduation.

"Georgie, hurry up! We're gonna be late!"

She didn't answer. I knocked on the door.

"I ain't going!"

I opened the door carefully, not really wanting to get my head chewed off.

"What do you..."

I stopped mid sentence. She was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed and her robe thrown across the room.

"What's going on?"

I was expecting her to snap, because she had been doing that a lot, but she just looked sad.

"It doesn't fit, Pony..."

She sighed and stood up and looked in the mirror.

"I feel like a whale right now. I ordered the robe two months ago, I've been so scatterbrained I didn't think about ordering it bigger than I was at the time..."

"That's why I thought ahead."

I turned to see Soda leaning against the doorframe with a robe in his hand. I swear, them two knew each other better than any couple I knew. He threw it to her.

"Try it on."

It fit perfectly. She thanked him, cried a little, and walked out of the room. He let out a relieved sigh and sat down on the bed.

"You okay, Soda?"

He smiled while looking down.

"I am. I'm just glad I thought about that."

"What do you think of these hormones?"

He chuckled.

"It's getting better as the months go on. I just try to keep her happy."

"Is it hard?"

"She's harder on herself. When she gets in a bad mood and snaps at me, she automatically feels bad then starts crying."

He chuckled again. I smiled.

"At least I'll know what's coming when Gloria gets pregnant."

He shrugged.

"Every girl's different. Steve says Jules hasn't really changed much. She hasn't had any really bad mood swings. I think it's just Georgie's problems. She's had more panic attacks and nightmares, so she doesn't sleep much. The doctor says its normal. I don't like her being alone now, and Jules and Jody have really helped me out with that. So has Two-bit and Andrea."

"I'm sorry you're stressed... Are you sure you wanna have another kid?"

He looked at me like I'd grown two heads.

"Of course! We both do. I promise."

"But, she's kind of crazy..."

He laughed.

"She was like that before."

"She wasn't biting our heads off..."

"Maybe not, but she's always been crazy, the hormones just made the craziness go into overdrive."

He smiled. He loved her no matter how nuts she was at the moment.

 **Georgie POV**

Getting my degree felt so good. We were both highly recommended by our professors and had meetings with publishers already in place, we just needed to get over the shock of graduating.

The night of graduation, everyone was at our house. Jules had graduated, too, with a degree in teaching.

"You feel any better, honey?"

"Not really, Jules. I don't get how you don't get mood swings."

She shrugged.

"My dad doesn't either. He said my mom was the devil when she was pregnant with me."

We both laughed.

"That's good news for you."

"How?"

"She went back to being herself about a month after I was born. You'll be fine."

"Gosh, I hope so."

Two months went by, and I calmed down some during that time. It was getting close to my due date. I was nesting, going into mommy mode when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Georgie, it's time!"

"Steve?"

"Yeah! It's me! We're on our way to the hospital! Soda's coming to get you!"

He hung up. I waited for Soda and we rode to the hospital as fast as we could. Her labor went by quickly, and she had a beautiful baby boy.

"He's beautiful."

"Thank you."

"What are you gonna name him?"

"John."

"Well, hello baby John."

We decided to leave and let them be alone. Steve was beaming, and Jules was glowing.

"How's Jules doing?"

"She's doing great, Ponyboy."

"How's your book coming?"

I had signed with a publisher of children's books.

"It's done. The editors are looking at it, but they said it looks great."

Soda was extra clingy that night.

"I have to go to Oklahoma City tomorrow with Two-bit, but I'll only be gone a few hours."

"That's fine."

"I don't have to..."

"Soda, you have to run a business. I'll be fine."

We both smiled. Since I had calmed down, life was seeming to be much simpler.

 **Pony POV**

Georgie had been cleaning like crazy, but she wasn't doing much that day. I thought it was strange.

"What do you want for lunch, Ponyboy?"

"Just sandwiches. Want me to make them?"

"No, I got it."

She made them and we are in silence, which was also weird. She disappeared into her bedroom for a couple of hours.

"Ponyboy!"

I jumped up from the couch so fast that I felt a little dizzy. I ran to their bedroom.

"What? What is it?"

"I was trying to hold out until Sodapop got back, but I don't think I can..."

"You're in labor?! And you didn't say ANYTHING?"

"I don't know if I am or not! My water hasn't broke, but I'm having contractions and they're getting closer and..."

She let in a sharp breathe. I was thankful that Soda had left the car here. I helped her up and we drove to the hospital. I left a note, but after getting her to the hospital and checked in, I decided to try to call the DXs in Oklahoma City to see if he was there. I was walking to the pay phone to call his office to get the numbers from his secretary.

"Ponyboy? What are you doing here?"

"Steve! I need your help!"

He was by me in a second.

"What is it? What's going on?"

"Georgie's in labor and Sodapop's in Oklahoma City!"

"Shit!"

"Do you know the numbers?"

"Yeah, I'll call."

I waited for him to talk to them. He called both places.

"One saw him, the other hasn't seen him yet. They said they'd tell him once he got there."

Steve waited about ten minutes and called again. They had apparently just pulled up and ran outside to get Soda to come to the phone. Steve handed it to me.

"Hello?"

"Sodapop!"

"Oh, hey Pony. They said it was St..."

"Georgie's in labor! You gotta get here now!"

"WHAT?"

Steve snatched the phone from me.

 **Steve POV**

I took the phone from Ponyboy, knowing that I had to make sure of something.

"Sodapop, listen to me."

"What, what?!"

"Don't get yourself killed trying to get here. She needs you alive whether you make it for the baby's birth or not. Get here as fast as you can, but please don't be stupid. And let Two-bit drive."

"Steve, you gotta... You..."

"I got her, I'll take care of her. Just get your ass back here in one piece."

I told Pony I'd be back and went to see Jules. I opened the door and she smiled at me.

"Look, Daddy's back."

I picked up our son.

"I can't stay but for just a second."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Georgie's in labor."

Her face lit up.

"That's great! Soda freaking out so you have to calm him down?"

She smirked.

"He's not here... He's in Oklahoma City..."

She looked at me wide eyed.

"He's trying to get back. I got a hold of him at one of the DXs."

She held her hands out for John. I handed him to her.

"Go. She doesn't need to do this alone, and I don't think Ponyboy's ready for this."

She smiled.

"I think you're right. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Honey, I'm fine. Go save Ponyboy."

I walked to her room. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. Ponyboy looked scared.

"Pony, why don't you go keep Jules company. Room 346."

He hesitated, but left. I went and sat by her and grabbed her hand.

"Soda's on his way. He's getting here as fast as he can."

"Thanks..."

For a while, we didn't say anything. Her contractions were getting closer and closer, and I knew that she was about ready to have this baby.

"It hurts so much! It hurts!"

I brushed her hair back from her sweaty face.

"I know, I know..."

"You... Don't have to stay here, Steve. I'm sure... That Jules..."

"Hey, Jules is fine. I'll be right here until Sodapop gets here."

The doctor came and checked her and told her it wouldn't be long. About thirty minutes later, she said it was time. She was about to start pushing when Soda plowed into the room.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

"Sodapop!"

I gave my friend a pat on the back and left the room.

 **Soda POV**

I was sitting there holding my beautiful baby girl and I couldn't believe I'd almost missed it. She was perfect. I looked over at Georgie, who was sleeping soundly, looking more beautiful than ever. I heard the door open.

"Hey, Sodapop."

Steve whispered it. I smiled at him.

"Thank you. For being there for her."

"Well, I just did it yesterday, so I consider myself an expert."

He chuckled and sat in the chair next to me. I gave her to him.

"Both of us dads in less than 24 hours. How'd that happen?"

"It figures, Steve."

"She's beautiful. What's her name?"

I looked over at Georgie. We were gonna name the baby the same whether it was a boy or a girl.

"Her name's Dally."

He smiled.

 **Author's note: I was reading through my story, and thought I should explain something. I know that the last few chapters, the characters** ** _seem_** **ooc. There's a reason for that. When I started writing Fate, I reread the book and watched the movie. I tried my best to keep the personalities the same as in the book and movie. The reason that they aren't like that any more is simple. They're not teenagers. They're grown up. At the beginning of Fate, Georgie was 16 and she's 24 now. They all had to grow up. I thought I should explain this just in case anyone was thinking that they seemed weird. I just know that they would change. And the reason Georgie was crazy during her pregnancy, was because according to my dad, my mom was, but he said that only made him love her more. I love you guys! Please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: Stressed

 **Pony POV**

It'd been a month since baby Dally was born, and it definitely was a change.

"Georgie, are you okay?"

I walked in the kitchen and saw her pouring a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, why?"

I chuckled.

"One, because you don't like coffee, and two, you just put salt in it."

She made a face, poured it in the sink, and started pouring herself another cup.

"It's the only thing that'll get me up in the morning."

"She didn't sleep good last night?"

"She sleeps okay, she just wakes up a lot to feed. It's just taking a lot out of me."

She sat down at the table, and as soon as she did, the baby started crying. She smiled and stood up.

"Duty calls."

Soda didn't get home until late that night. I noticed that this had become a pattern. I decided to pay Steve a visit.

"Hey, Ponyboy. What brings you here?"

"I think we have a problem."

He sighed.

"What's wrong with her?"

"With who?"

"Um... Georgie?"

"Wow, we really need to have more faith in her. She's fine, that's not what I wanna talk about."

He chuckled.

"Sorry. It's a reflex."

About that time, Two-bit walked in.

"Howdy!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Have you been working late, Steve?"

"With a new baby at home? Of course not!"

"We've gotta do something, then..."

"About what?"

 **Steve POV**

When Pony told me what was going on, I was actually pretty shocked. I got Jules to invite Georgie over that Saturday so I could talk to him, but he wasn't home. I called the office.

"Hello?"

"Soda, what're you doing there?"

"Uh... I'm doing some paperwork."

"We don't work on the weekends."

"I know, but..."

"I'm at your house. Come home."

"I..."

"Now, Soda."

About twenty minutes later, he came through the door.

"Make this quick, Steve. I've gotta get back..."

"What the hell are you doing?"

He looked taken aback.

"What're you talking about?"

"Ponyboy said you're working late every night and leaving earlier in the mornings. Why?"

"Because I have a business to..."

"Cut the crap, Sodapop. What's going on?"

He tried to argue with me for a while, before he finally yelled at me.

"I don't know how to handle a baby! Alright?! Are you happy, now?!"

He sat down in the chair with his head in his hands.

"Pony said that Georgie's hardly sleeping. Are you helping her at all?"

"I don't know how to help her!"

He stood up again and started pacing.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I don't remember when Ponyboy was a baby! I know how to deal with kids, I don't know the first thing about taking care of a baby!"

"And you think I did?! I had to _learn._ The only way to learn is to just do it!"

He sighed and sat back down.

"She's just so good with her. Like, really good with her."

"I promise you, it was hard for her, too. It's just as new for her."

"You'd never know it..."

"Sodapop, she's running herself ragged. She's not only taking care of the baby, but she's also writing her next book, cooking all of the meals, and taking care of you and Ponyboy. Pony's even taking care of Dally an hour a day so Georgie can sleep."

"I just... I didn't expect it to be this hard... I just thought I could work a lot until..."

"Until what? She's five?!"

He just sat there. I was getting angry. I ran my hands over my face trying to calm down.

"Sodapop, you can't do this."

"She's so small... I'm afraid I'll break her... And she always cries when I hold her..."

"That's because she can sense that you're terrified... The more you hold her, the more you'll get used to it and you won't be nervous anymore..."

I sighed.

"Look, tomorrow's Sunday... Why don't we send Georgie over to Darry and Jody's to rest and I'll help you with Dally."

 **Soda POV**

I didn't sleep well that night. I heard Georgie get up to feed Dally every two hours. The next morning, I told Georgie to go to Darry and Jody's house to get some rest. She was hesitant, but got ready. She was about to leave when Steve walked in.

"Hey, Steve."

"Hey, gorgeous."

She rolled her eyes, but gave him a hug.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay, Sodapop?"

"Y-yeah. Why?"

"You've never had her alone, And I know she makes you nervous..."

Steve wrapped and arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, I'm here with him. Go on, we'll be fine."

She looked unsure.

"Okay... I'm right down the road if you need me..."

She left, and Ponyboy walked in holding Dally. She was completely calm.

"Here's Daddy."

He handed her to me, and she started whimpering. Steve sat next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Relax, buddy. She knows you're nervous."

I tried to relax, but I couldn't. Steve took her from me and started talking to her in a low voice. She calmed right down.

"How do you do that?"

"You can't let her intimidate you. She's a baby. She won't bite."

Pony smirked.

"At least not yet."

"Screw you!"

Steve handed her back to me.

"Relax..."

I took a deep breath and looked down at my baby girl. She was whimpering again. I started talking to her like Steve.

"Hey, hey. It's okay... Daddy's here. I'm not gonna let anything hurt you..."

I touched her cheek as I talked. She calmed down, which made me relax.

"Hey, there's that crazy grin we all love!"

"Again, Ponyboy. Screw you!"

The day went on, and I got better and better. I fed her, changed her, bounced her to sleep. She was taking a nap when Georgie got home.

"Hey."

"Hey, you."

I leaned down and kissed her. She smiled.

"Was she too much trouble?"

"No, she was pretty good. Did you sleep any?"

"I rested, but I didn't sleep."

Later that night, I heard the baby crying. I felt Georgie get up, but I stopped her.

"Is this a breastfeed or bottle feed?"

"This is the first time, so breastfeed."

I walked to the baby's room with her and watched. I'd never really seen her do it.

"What?"

"What?"

"Why're you staring at me?"

"You're just... So beautiful."

She smiled. From then on, every time it was a bottle feed, I fed her. Then it was Georgie's turn to stare.

"Now I know why you asked earlier. That's kind of creepy."

She chuckled.

"I'm gonna go lay down. You need me for anything?"

I looked down at my little girl.

"No. I think we'll be just fine."

 **Georgie POV**

I didn't know what exactly Steve had done, but I was really happy that Sodapop wasn't afraid of her anymore. It gave me some peace of mind. I went back to our room.

"I like her name..."

"Oh my gosh..."

Dally was standing at the window looking out of it. I hadn't seen him in a long time... I think it had been two years... Maybe longer...

"She's beautiful, just like her mom."

I smiled.

"Thanks..."

"How're you doing?"

"I'm stressed, but it comes with it, I guess."

He looked at me.

"You're so grownup."

"And you're still 17."

He smirked.

"I wouldn't have been a good adult anyways."

"I figured you'd already be asleep."

Dally winked at me and disappeared. I turned to Soda.

"I will be. I'm definitely exhausted."

We climbed into bed and he pulled me close and we fell into a peaceful sleep. Until two hours later, anyway.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six: Surprise!

Georgie POV

"Dally Anna Curtis, no!"

*crash*

"Anybody home?"

"In here, Pony!"

"Hey."

"Why'd you come in the back door?"

"I walked from my house. I cut through it."

"Pony, Pony!"

"Hey, Dally!"

He picked her up.

"What're you up to?"

"I had to get away from Gloria. She just about not my head off this morning. I needed thirty minutes..."

"So, you left one pregnant woman to hang out with another pregnant woman?"

"You're not crazy this time. She's the devil."

"That's mean!"

"I still love her!"

He put her down, and she ran to her room.

*crash*

I sighed and sat down.

"So, don't you remember when you said you were so happy that Dally wasn't going through terrible twos?"

"If you don't shut up..."

He chuckled.

"She's a rotten three year old, that's for sure."

"Yeah... But, she's mine, and I love her."

"How about I take her off your hands for a couple of hours? Gloria won't be mean if she's around."

"That would be great. I have an appointment today, so that'd really help me out."

"Sure, no problem. So, how's Jules?"

"She's doing better."

Jules had gotten really sick. We almost lost her, but she was doing okay.

"I've had John a lot, but she wanted to keep him herself today. She's starting to get some color back."

We talked for a few more minutes, and then he left with Dally. Me and Soda went to my appointment where Dr. Mandy was doing a sonogram.

"Well, it looks like you're about six months along."

Soda about fell to the ground.

"What? I thought it was more like two or three?"

"So did I!"

"Well, it's six. And the babies are doing fine."

"Wait... What'd you say?"

"You heard me right, Sodapop. You're having twins."

Later that night, we'd finally gotten Dally to bed, and we were sitting in the kitchen.

"Soda..."

"Yeah?"

"I can barely handle Dally right now... How am I gonna handle twins?"

"We'll get through it... Maybe we should put Dally in a daycare."

"I don't know..."

"It would give you a break, and it'd help you out when the babies are born..."

"I'll think about it."

 **Soda POV**

"How's Jules?"

He flicked his ashes off the porch.

"She's doing better, but she's still really tired. How're you doing? How was the appointment?"

"Well, we got some surprises today."

"Like what?"

"Well, she's six months."

"What? I thought she was three or four!"

"Yeah... You'd think that be thE most shocking... There's two..."

"Two what?"

"It's twins..."

Steve's eyes got ride.

"Wow. Dally's a spitfire, how're you gonna handle twins?"

"Hell if I know, but I'll make it work. How's Two-bit doing?"

"Throwing himself into work. I can't believe Andrea cheated on him."

"He'll find someone else. I'm just glad they didn't have any kids. He never has to deal with her again."

 **Pony POV**

I never thought that Georgie and Gloria would go into labor on the same day. Gloria's went great, and we had a beatified baby girl. We named her Angel. But, Georgie was early.

"How's she doing?"

"She's okay. She's just ready to be able to hold them."

She had a girl and a boy. They named them Hannah and Sodapop Jr.

"She's just really emotional right now. They have her something to make her sleep."

"And Soda?"

"He's just as bad..."

 **Soda POV**

"Dally, stop it!"

Ever since we'd brought the babies home, Dally was worse than ever.

"I wanna play with you!"

"I know you wanna play, but I'm feeding Sodapop right now, you'll have to wait!"

I had fed the kids, played with Dally, and worked. That night, I plopped into bed.

"I'm so tired..."

"Ditto..."

I wrapped my arms around her.

"Our life is so crazy..."

"Of course it is. It's us, remember?"

She cracked a smile.

"You ready to get some sleep?"

"Yes!"

It wasn't five minutes, and we heard crying.

I followed her to their room and she picked up Hannah and started feeding her.

"Yeah, our life is crazy."

I knelt down in front of her.

"You're right, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me either."

 **Author's note: The next chapter will be the Epilogue. This story has been so fun to write, and you guys have been great. It feels so weird that it's ending, but I know that it's time. And don't worry! I have another Outsiders story already going! I hoped you liked seeing Georgie and the gang grow up into adults!**


	27. The End

Epilogue

 **Soda POV**

It was Christmas Eve, and everyone was at our house that night.

*crash*

The twins yelled from the kitchen at the same time.

"Casey did it!"

A 16 year old Dally walked out of the kitchen rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, a five year old who's playing in her room broke a plate that _they_ were fighting over in the kitchen."

"Clean it up!"

"But, Dad!"

"You want me to come in there?"

I heard them scurrying to pick up the broken plate. Dally went and sat next to John and he put his arm around her. I made a face.

"Awe, come on buddy! We knew our kids would be close!"

"You said best friends, not dating..."

"They're fine."

I gave him a look.

"You're the boy's dad, I'm the girl's. There's a difference."

"You're right, but Dana's only 8. She still thinks boys are gross."

"What about you, Two-bit? How're you liking being a dad?"

He was holding his baby boy. His first.

"I like it pretty good."

Candace rolled her eyes.

"I do most of the work."

I smiled. I looked around at our big, dysfunctional family. Our lives had changed so much.

Two-bit had met Candace several years back, but it took him forever to commit. What Andrea had done had really hurt him, but Candace was great. They had just had their first baby, and he was happier than ever.

Steve and Julie struggled after she had got sick, but they pulled through. John was 16, and they had had Dana nearly nine years after him. She was the calmest child I'd ever seen.

Ponyboy had become a best selling author, and he and Gloria had three kids. Angel, Danielle, and Sally. All girls. We saw everyone in the gang at least once a week, but we saw them the most. Georgie and I were still really close with Pony.

Darry and Jody only ever had one kid. Darry Jr. was a senior in High School. He was an athlete like his dad, and he made sure his grades were good. Unfortunately, Jody had died three years before in a car accident, but Darry had brought his girlfriend Beth, and she was really nice. Darry Jr. liked her, and that's all that mattered to Darry. That had been hard on both of them, but we'd gotten through it as a family.

As for me and Georgie? Well, we had four kids with one on the way. Dally was 16, and dating John. She was a sophomore, and she liked reading just like her mom, and goofing off just like me. Sodapop and Hannah, our twins, were 12 and rotten. They were a tag team, and we're always getting into trouble, but they were still good kids. Casey was 5, and she was so good it scared us. The oldest three had given us a run for our money, but she'd always been different. She had a heart of gold, just like her mama.

Georgie was 8 months pregnant, and had written several children's books. She was still stubborn and crazy, but I couldn't help but fall in love with her even more everyday. As for me? Well, Steve and I had expanded our businesses over five states.

Georgie came and sat next to me.

"I'm exhausted."

I chuckled.

"I know you are."

She looked around at everybody, but rested her eyes on our kids who were huddled around the tree together.

"Our life sure is crazy."

"Yeahp, and it will only get crazier."

She smiled at me.

"That's just the way I like it. I'm definitely never bored."

"With friends and family like this?"

She lightly punched me. I kissed her.

We'd definitely been through a lot, but we always got through it. Even when our kids are bad, or Georgie has a panic attack, or when the gang's all together like this, we're all a team.

It was all crazy, but I couldn't have asked for a better life than this.

 **Author's note: Well, I know it isn't much, but I did what I could! These last few chapter were really hard to write, especially since Fate and Life were my first stories. I feel like the ending of this isn't the best, but I did what I could! I know some people have been following this story, and I am so sad that it's over, but I felt I had done all I could do with it. I love you guys, and like I said, I'm working on a new story now! I love you guys, and I hope the ending didn't disappoint anyone too much!**


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